In the Savage Garden
by KawaiiTenshi27
Summary: Heero and Duo; shounen-ai; AU; Relena bashing; if you don't like such things, this is not for you. it's sort of a song fic. i'm really bad at summaries, i hate giving stuff away
1. Prologue Affirmation

**Disclaimer:** I don't own GW, Savage Garden, or anything else I may have alluded to, much to my sorrow, so please don't sue, all you'll get is pocket lint anyhow, and I'm sure you already have as much of your own as you could possibly want

**Warning:** fluffy cotton candy and citrusy goodness. Some Relena bashing, if you don't like it, don't read it. Shounen-ai, yaoi (if you don't know what it is, you shouldn't be here)

**In the Savage Garden**

_I believe you can't control or choose your sexuality_

_I believe that trust is more important than monogamy_

_I believe your most attractive features are your heart and soul_

_I believe that family is worth more than money or gold_

**Prologue - Affirmation**

_Where to begin?_ The list was endless. The messy-haired boy – a young man, really – stared down at the paper in his hand, hoping against hope that if he looked at it long enough, it would somehow grow shorter of its own accord. But no one has ever, in all the history of lists, been able to star at a list long enough to shrink it.

_How had he managed to pull errand-duty for practically the entire apartment? What had he done to deserve this? At least the girls didn't live there anymore, or he'd be forced to pick up make-up and other, less pleasant, products._ He shuddered.

"Hee-chan!" a voice called out.

"Shut up," Heero growled automatically, without glancing up, before registering the voice as a forced falsetto, not the clear alto he was accustomed to hearing. Startled, he looked up, still half-expecting to see a pink-decked blonde girl hovering inches away. Instead, a boy his own age with a long, heavy, chestnut braid was grinning mischievously at him.

_Baka! You hear the name 'Hee-chan' and you flip? Just because that's what _She _called you, you automatically assume everyone who calls you that is going to be like her? Just don't talk. Bite your tongue, or something. This is what happens when you open your stupid mouth! You insult the one person you'd rather..._ "Gomen, Duo," Heero muttered, cutting off that particular thought and flushing (_boys don't blush!_) with embarrassment. "I just... thought... you were..."

"Relena?" the braided boy supplied, his voice dropping back to its own range.

"Hai," Heero nodded, knowing his face was bright red, and hating it. _Smooth, Yuy. Real smooth._

"'S okay, my man," the American boy laughed. "I get mistaken for people's ex-girlfriends all the time. No worries, _Hee-chan_." That damned falsetto was back.

"Don't call me that," Heero grunted. _You're getting angry,_ his conscience warned. _Just leave now. Better to risk hurting his feelings by brushing him off, than letting your mouth run away with you._ "This is all your fault, you know!" _Like that._ "You _know s_he was the only person who called me that, and you faked a girl's voice just to get a rise out of me!" the Japanese boy's quick temper was rising to cover his embarrassment. _Shut up! Just stop talking if you can't say anything nice, or at least civil! You'll be kicking yourself hard enough later as it is. Do you _want_ to scare him off?_

"So, whatcha doin', _Hee-chan_?" the other boy asked, cheerfully ignoring the tirade.

_Just be glad he's still his cheerful self... don't say anything STUPID..._ "Errands," the taller boy finally snapped, unable to keep from shooting his neighbor a death-glare as he slammed out of the apartment building. _Baka, baka, baka,_ he chanted silently to himself as he started down the street, adjusting the bags slung over his shoulders.

**Switch POV**

The glare only stopped Duo for a moment, then the longhaired brunet ran to catch up with his irritable friend.

"You're not _really_ mad, are ya?" Duo asked. _Get him to talk._

"Hn."

_Come on, man, don't just brush me off..._ Duo scowled at the other boy's lack of response. _You're just asking for it..._ "Stop being such a grouch, _Hee-chan_."

In an instant, Duo found himself dragged forward, Heero's hand gripping the front of his shirt. "I told you not to call me that," the taller boy hissed.

Duo looked up into cold blue eyes. _Then don't brush me off!_ "Geez, Yuy, I was just joking around, take a breath or two." Duo pushed ineffectually at the boy glaring down at him. He could smell the other boy's aftershave and soap, they were so close.

"Just leave me alone," Heero snarled.

"Sure thing, man," Duo forced a grin. "Uh, you wanna let go of my shirt? People are staring." For some reason, he had goose bumps. _Did Heero always smell like cinnamon?_

"Go home, Maxwell," Heero released him, and bent to pick up the various bags he'd dropped, ignoring the passersby who were giving the two boys a wide berth.

Duo stared for a moment, hurt more by the chill in Heero's voice and manner than he had been by the rough physical threats.

Heero straightened, adjusting the multiple bags across his shoulders.

"Sorry, Heero," the braided boy said softly, thinking to himself, _Something's bugging him, he snapped a lot sooner than he usually does. I'm usually pretty good at not going overboard... at knowing when I need to stop before he goes over the edge._

"Hn," was the only response.

_I'll take that to mean 'it's okay, don't worry about it,'_ Duo thought, a bit crankily. "I've got some errands to run, too," he tried again. "Mind if I tag along?"

"Hn."

Duo took that as a "yes, of course, I'd love nothing better than to have you accompany me on my outing," and fell into step with the taller boy.

After a few yards, Heero shoved a few of the bags he was carrying at Duo, who took them happily, feeling the tension ease.

Their first stop was the dry cleaners, where Heero had to drop off several suits for Wufei. Next they went to a hardware store to pick up paint samples for Quatre and a travel agency to check flights from California to Boston for Trowa's sister (why they couldn't just use a computer was a mystery). Then they went to a big book warehouse for Heero, who spent all of five minutes browsing before leaving with nothing, a somewhat disappointed Duo trailing behind. After that, they went to a Laundromat to do a week's worth of laundry for four people ("we better get the lobby's machines fixed soon," Heero grumbled), then they went to the video store, where Duo grabbed his favorite (_Fight Club_) while Heero searched out videos for the rest of their apartment mates. They went to Wufei's club to drop off a repaired fencing epée, then swung by the music store to pick up a new book of sheet music that Trowa had requested for an upcoming concert. They stopped quickly at a toy store to get Quatre child's wrapping paper for a present to one of his nephews, then at a convenience store to pick up colored tape for the gift, and Duo grabbed a big bottle of shampoo and another of conditioner. Then they made their last stop: the grocery store, where both boys went through their weekly lists, and those of their three apartment mates.

Duo said little, and Heero said less. Duo naturally wanted to chatter to fill the still somewhat tense silence, but Heero was obviously not in the mood, so Duo kept the impulse in check. Instead, he fell into the thoughts that had been plaguing him constantly for the previous few months. Ever since Hilde had broken up with him.

Above the lobby, the apartment building Duo and Heero lived in had seven floors. Duo lived at the very top. Heero lived on the level below, on the seventh floor. Chang Wufei lived on the second floor of the building, sometimes with his on-off girlfriend Meiran. Hilde had lived on the third floor, but the apartment was empty now, as was the sixth floor, which had once been inhabited by Heero's ex, Relena Peacecraft. The two girls were planning on getting a real house with Trowa's sister, Catherine Barton (thus the plane ticket). Trowa occupied the fifth floor, and his shy blond shadow, Quatre Raberba Winner (whose family owned the whole building) had the fourth floor.

The five boys had been friends for years, ever since they'd started high school. Well, they hadn't all become friends right away. Quatre had naturally befriended them, the 'misfits,' and brought them together. The shy boy could be awfully determined when he set his mind to something, and he usually got his way (_he had Tro completely whipped,_ Duo thought with a mental snigger).

The five of them had all been in the same English class, and had been assigned to work together, starting the second month of freshman year, for the yearlong group project every student had to complete. Things had been very uncomfortable for a while, until Quatre had decided that even people as different as they seemed to be had to have _some_ things in common, and had invited them all over to his family's mansion for a long weekend, and practically forced them to have fun. And it had been fun. And after that, the five had considered each other solid friends, though they still disagreed on a LOT.

Fei and Heero were 'the athletes,' Duo supposed, but no one would _ever_ call either of them a jock. Fei was always more into martial arts and fencing, not exactly the sports the cheerleading team was eager to tag along to. Heero, well, Heero was the star forward of the soccer team and had the best batting average of the school's baseball players, but jocks were social creatures, and Heero was anything but. _He's a mystery,_ Duo thought. Freshmen were never good enough to play, but Heero hadn't sat out a game once in his entire high school career, and he'd never lost a game, either. That alone would have made him one of the most popular guys in school. Add to that his locker pin-up looks, and the entire female population (and a good portion of the male population, as well) at the school was ready to make him their darling. But Heero went out of his way to avoid attention. He seemed to want to hide in anonymity.

Duo, on the other hand, felt much better equipped to hide in the spotlight. The best way to hide in a crowd was to stand out, after all.

Q and Tro were both musicians, and damned good ones at that. That was how they'd first met, before the English project had ever started. Trowa had been very quiet before Quatre had pushed him out of the shadows, though the blond could be plenty quiet himself. Duo still didn't know the details, and he wasn't sure he wanted to, though it might be worth it, just for the rare chance to see Tro blush. _Gotta hand it to Q,_ Duo thought, _Tro was definitely quite the catch._

Duo supposed he was a musician as well: he'd sung with the best of them since grade school, after all, in choirs and solo, but he was happiest on the theatre stage. _Where I can wear the mask of someone else, for a while..._ He'd always liked being able to play different characters, to forget his own problems for a while, and maybe be able to help his audience forget theirs. It was a relief to be able to ignore the soap opera that was high school life, if only for a short time. His own nature was such that he didn't like to share himself with other people. Oh, he shared his opinions, loudly and often, but the real him, how he felt and what he really thought, he hid from others, unsure how people would react. He loved cracking jokes and clowning around, and thoroughly enjoyed scaring the shit out of people. He lived for the reactions he could get from randomly saying or doing strange things, whether what he said was true or not was beside the point. But he was scared to death of how those around him would respond to what was under the cheerfully upbeat mask, to what lay behind the wickedly laughing, deceptively innocent purple eyes. Even his closest friends... _What if they didn't like him anymore?_

Duo had lost his family at a very young age, so young, in fact, that he couldn't even remember them. He'd been raised in a church-run orphanage up until sixth grade, when it had burned down. He had been the only survivor. He'd been in shock for months, then outwardly returned to his old energetic self. His very nature wouldn't let him do anything else, but he'd been shaken to the core, and hadn't known how to fill the empty void inside of him – had been too afraid to even try. Quatre and the others had gone a long way towards filling that void, but he was still scared to be alone.

During his junior year he'd started going out with Hilde. She'd been the one to ask him, for, though he'd been interested, he'd been far too scared of rejection at that point to make a move himself. She'd been a good friend before they'd become a couple, and he still considered her among his best friends, even though she'd moved out.

Heero had started dating Relena soon after Hilde and Duo had gotten together, the peppy blonde had been chasing Heero since she'd first transferred into the school when they were fifteen. For some reason, Duo had always disliked Relena, and it had strangely intensified when she'd started dating his best friend. Duo couldn't explain it at all, she just made his teeth hurt.

Duo had always been very aware of Heero, but he'd never really given it much thought. He'd always blamed it on the blonde cheerleader whenever it reached a point where he found it odd. He'd always assumed it was because Relena inspired homicidal feelings in him, because Heero was his best friend, and because, as Heero was his friend, he didn't want Heero to get hurt, and if Duo ever killed Heero's girlfriend, one would assume Heero would be hurt. No particularly strange reasons there. Of course, there'd been that one incident after Junior Prom, and he hadn't been able to look Heero in the face all summer, but that had nothing to do with anything, did it?

Duo had long considered Heero to be his best friend of the four, had found it strangely easy to talk to the blue-eyed boy, and had discovered he opened up to the messy-haired boy far more than he did to anyone else, even Hilde. Heero knew more about his past than anyone, though he still didn't know everything – even after so many years, Duo was still unable to talk about certain things. Duo had also noticed that Heero seemed able to relax more with him than he did with other people, even to talk more, though Duo had found very quickly just how easy it was to light the taller boy's short temper – as Quatre put it, he 'always knew just how to push Heero's buttons'. It wasn't something Duo was particularly proud of, but it did prove amusing at times. Lately, however, Heero'd been extremely east to get riled up – at least when Duo was the one to get riled up at.

_I wonder if Hilde talked to him, too?_ Duo thought suddenly, halfway through their stop at the Laundromat. "Heero?" he asked, turning to the dark-haired boy, who was switching clothes to the dryer.

"What?"

"Did Hilde ever – " _no, wait, she said she wasn't going to talk to anyone about it._

"Did Hilde ever what?" Heero prompted when Duo had been quiet for a long moment.

"Nothing," Duo shook his head. "Forget it."

"All right." Heero turned back to the clothes, looking mildly irritated.

Quatre's parents had given the five boys and two girls their apartments as a graduation gift, and they'd all lived there quite happily for close to two years, until Hilde had abruptly told Duo that they were breaking up, and that she was moving out.

To say that Duo had been stunned would have been like saying Elvis was capable of carrying a tune, or Medea was a bit miffed when Jason left her for a virgin princess. When he'd finally been able to speak, he'd asked why. She'd been very blunt.

"You're in love with him," she'd said.

"What?" he'd spluttered. "Who?"

"You're in love with Heero," she'd told him, very matter-of-fact.

"What the hell do you mean by that?"

"I meant what I said. You're in love with – "

"Stop saying that! I am not! It's absurd! Where would you get an idea like that?"

"After so many years, I'd think it was obvious. The two of you are nuts for each other, no pun intended."

Duo hadn't even laughed. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Come on, Duo. You've been mad for him since before _we_ ever started going out, though I admit I only just started to realize it. I've always known _he_ was crazy for _you_, just too damn shy to admit it, or even that he's bi, but if he wasn't going to jump for the chance, I wasn't going to sit around until he got the balls for it. And I honestly don't know why you're so bothered by it, you've known you were bi since before I knew you."

"Oh, can it, Hilde! My being bi had never been a problem for you before. Heero and I are friends. Just friends. And just because I'm into guys as well as girls doesn't mean I'm going to care about _you_ any less, _or_ that I'm going to go all dreamy-eyed over my friends. And you know that, so stop making shit up. What's this really about?"

She'd shrieked then, well, that's what it had sounded like, half shriek and half groan of exasperation. "You ass!" she'd screamed. "Get that stupid expression off your face, and don't you _dare_ give me that _is-it-that-time-of-the-month?_ look, or I swear to God and anyone else listening that I will tear your bloody eyes _out_ and make you eat them! I was completely serious, and if you don't believe me, you can go rot, for all I care. It's not my problem anymore! I told you it's over, Maxwell, and if you don't believe why, that's your own damn problem!" With that, she'd slammed out of his apartment, and he hadn't had the nerve to go after her.

Almost a month later, Relena and Heero broke up. And when Duo had calmly tried to ask Hilde (who he'd finally made up with) if she'd had anything to do with it, she'd just as calmly told him that who he wanted to screw was his own damn business, and if he thought she'd go talk to Heero about it, he could just go fuck himself.

Duo had taken that as a 'no,' and let the matter rest.

Or, at least, he'd tried to. He hadn't said anything to anyone after the debacle with Hilde, but he couldn't stop thinking about it. It irked him. Why would Hilde think he liked Heero? Granted, Heero was very attractive, and while the bed-head look might make another guy look like a scrub, on Heero it just looked sexy. And the guy had an amazing build (Duo had always envied him that), he was athletic and worked out, but he wasn't overly built like the guys who looked like they were on steroids, not that Duo paid a lot of attention to Heero's body, Heero was his friend, and straight, so it was just something he'd noticed in passing, obviously, but it was still true.

But besides his looks (which Duo had ONLY noticed in passing, of course), Heero could be pretty cool to hang out with, when he wasn't mad. It seemed like a lot of the time when Duo got too close to Heero, the short-haired boy got irritated; Duo figured Heero was one of those people who had a "personal bubble" that was not to be tampered with, though he never seemed quite as on edge with other people. But when Heero _wasn't_ mad, he was a great friend. He always watched his friends' backs. He could be great to talk to, if he wasn't in one of his monosyllabic moods. He was a good listener. He actually had a sense of humor, a strange sense of humor, but it was there, which Duo had never expected when he'd first met the blue-eyed boy. He was talented, and smart, and interesting, and could be surprisingly gentle when Duo was sick or upset, something that had always thrown Duo a little off guard, though he appreciated it far more than he'd ever say.

But just because Heero was everything anyone could ever want didn't mean that _Duo_ wanted him... did it?

Duo and Heero were just friends. That was it. Best friends, which was why Duo felt he could talk about almost anything with Heero, and why it seemed like Heero was willing to talk about almost anything to him. But even though they were best friends, they were still _just_ friends. And Duo knew that was all they should, could, or would ever be. Heero was, simply put, amazing, and Duo... well, Duo knew his own shortcomings all too well. So why would Hilde think that Heero liked him? After all, for one thing, whatever Hilde might think, Heero was straight as a ruler. For another, as Heero was fond of pointing out, Duo was an annoying idiot – so why would someone as great as Heero have any interest in someone like Duo?

But then there was the Junior Prom incident...

Duo didn't even want to think about it. What an embarrassingly messed up night that had been. He'd been trying unsuccessfully to forget it ever since it had happened.

Then, suddenly, staring at his grocery list, Duo realized that he didn't want to forget it. Maybe now was, in fact, the perfect time to figure it out. Much as he hated to admit it, and tried to deny it, he was already questioning his feelings for Heero, even if he had very little doubt about Heero's purely friendly regard for him. Maybe if he could figure out what he really felt about that night, he might be able to figure some other things out as well.

The night of Junior Prom Duo and Heero had both ended up going solo with Quatre and Trowa and Wufei and Meiran. Hilde and Relena (who were best friends) had both caught a bug from Relena's older brother, and had been forced by their parents to stay home.

They'd all had a few drinks in the limo before the Prom, and a few after, then more when they got to Quatre's house, where they were all spending the night.

The two couples had soon disappeared, and Duo and Heero had been left alone in the living room of Quatre's suite. By that time, they'd both been quite roaring drunk.

There'd been an old set of CDs playing: Quatre was addicted to what he called "classic music" (Duo privately loved it as well, but teased Q aloud by calling it "the sweet tunes of the ancient dead"). It had taken the two boys a while to realize the others had disappeared, and when they did, they'd collapsed on the floor, laughing at how long it had taken them, Eventually, they'd returned to a somewhat more sane frame of mind, laying on their backs on the floor, arms spread out, staring up at the ceiling. The song blasting was by Savage Garden, and one of Duo's favorites. He'd started singing along, managing to stay in tune even drunk and in his awkward position on the floor.

"There's just no rhyme or reason – Only this sense of completion – And in your eyes – I see the missing pieces – I'm searching for – I think I found my way home – "

"You know this song?" Heero didn't seem at all surprised, but it had still been more question than statement.

"'Course, 'Ro!" Duo had half mumbled. "It's Savage Garden!" He turned his head so he could see the other boy clearly. Heero was looking at him. "Don't you know _anything_?"

"I knew I loved you..." the Japanese boy murmured. The alcohol was making his face red. A moment later he continued. "A thousand angels dance around you – " he was half whispering, half singing along. "I am complete now that I've found you – "

"Never knew you could sing, 'Ro," Duo sighed sleepily. It had been a long night, and Quatre's floor was surprisingly comfortable. "Got a nice voice... Didn't know you knew this song either."

"It's a beautiful song," Heero replied. He rolled onto his side, facing Duo.

"Yeah," Duo smiled at his friend.

"Duo?"

"Yeah?"

"... Never mind."

"Nice, 'Ro, real nice. Start to say something..." Duo trailed off, and turned back to face the ceiling.

"Duo?" Heero said again after several minutes.

"What, 'Ro?" Duo had almost fallen asleep, and didn't bother opening his eyes. He heard Heero shifting.

"Just... just needed to say... just wanted to tell you..." suddenly, Duo felt a strange mouth covering his.

His eyes snapped open. Heero, eyes closed, was kissing him. Wait. Heero was kissing him? That couldn't be right. His eyes drifted closed, almost against his will, just as he felt Heero's tongue requesting entrance to his mouth. He parted his lips, allowing Heero's questing tongue access. Hesitantly, he let his own tongue dance with the other boy's.

_Just how drunk are we?_ he wondered.

Then it was over. Heero pulled away. Duo forced his eyes back open. The other boy was still hovering above him, hands braced on the ground on either side of Duo's head.

"Where did you learn to kiss like that?" it was out of his mouth before he could stop it.

Heero's chuckle sounded almost nervous. "You'd be surprised."

"Are you going to kiss me again?" Duo could have swallowed his tongue. He'd actually sounded like he was _asking_ Heero to kiss him – again! This was Heero. His friend. His best friend! His _straight_ best friend. Who had a girlfriend. They both had girlfriends!

"No."

Duo let out the breath he hadn't known he'd been holding in a sigh of – disappointment? That wasn't right. It couldn't be.

"Next time, you're going to kiss me."

"_What_?" Duo's voice cracked as it hadn't in years.

Their bodies were still so close together Duo could feel Heero's low chuckle, and the rapid beating of the other boy's heart, which seemed to be trying to catch up with his own.

"Heero, you're drunk," Duo voice didn't sound convincing, even to himself. "We're both drunk." _Do I wish we weren't?_

"Fun, isn't it?" Heero's voice wasn't even slurred.

"Heero..."

Heero leaned in so close his lips were almost brushing Duo's – but not quite. Duo's eyes slid closed, lips parting slightly as he tilted his chin, waiting for the kiss. But Heero didn't kiss him. The older boy only nipped lightly at Duo's lower lip, then moved his lips close to Duo's ear. "It's your turn," he whispered, his warm breath sending an electric shiver down Duo's spine, then he drew back, away from the smaller boy.

A low moan escaped Duo's lips as Heero pulled away, and, unthinking, he reached to yank the taller boy back.

Just then, laughter exploded in the hallway, and Duo shoved Heero off of him before rolling away from the other boy mere seconds before the two couples entered the room. Duo thought he'd seen a hurt look on his friend's face, but they hadn't been alone again that night, and Duo had effectively avoided Heero all summer. Things had gone back to normal the following autumn, and neither of them had ever mentioned the incident again.

"Duo!" Heero's voice cut into Duo's trip down memory lane. He was holding Duo's arm in a death grip.

Duo blinked. He was standing on the curb next to Heero, whose bags were once again on the sidewalk. Cars were whizzing by, and Duo realized the look on Heero's face was a cross between horror and deep fear. In a flash, he realized he'd almost walked into the busy street. "Oh my God, Heero, I'm sorry! I wasn't paying attention. I'm so sor – " he was cut off abruptly when Heero smacked him across the face: hard. "Dammit, Yuy!" Duo's cheek smarted. "I said I was sor – " Heero smacked him again.

"Don't _ever_ scare me like that again." Heero bent down, picked up his bags, and stepped into the now empty crosswalk, glaring straight ahead at the "walk" signal.

**A/N:** please note that this is, for all real purposes, my first fan fic. Reviews are more than welcome!


	2. 1 Violet

**Disclaimer:** I don't own GW, Savage Garden, or anything else I may have alluded to, much to my sorrow, so please don't sue, all you'll get is pocket lint anyhow, and I'm sure you already have as much of your own as you could possibly want

**Warning:** fluffy cotton candy and citrusy goodness. Some Relena bashing, if you don't like it, don't read it. Shounen-ai, yaoi (if you don't know what it is, you shouldn't be here). AU.

**In the Savage Garden**

...

"Don't _ever_ scare me like that again." Heero bent down, picked up his bags, and stepped into the now empty crosswalk, glaring straight ahead at the "walk" signal.

_I've got a dream to take you over_

_Exploding like a supernova_

_I'm gonna crash into your world_

_And that's no lie..._

**Ch. 1 – Violet**

Duo hurried to catch up. He was a little stunned, both by his close call, and by Heero's reaction.

The two boys sparred sometimes at the gym, or wherever, it was good exercise, and more fun than lifting weights or running laps (which Heero tended to do as well). It also seemed like half the time they argued they came to blows, or close, often with Heero threatening to kill Duo, though he'd never caused any serious damage. But, in all the time they had known each other, Duo had never actually been _slapped_ by Heero. They'd almost been "how-dare-you" slaps, more a warning than a serious threat. Duo knew from experience that Heero could knock him flat if he felt like it – not that he didn't pack a good punch himself, but he just wasn't in the same league as Heero when it came to fisticuffs (he'd always enjoyed watching Heero and Fei, the martial artist, kick the crap out of each other).

Come to think of it, not counting his work on stage, Duo didn't think he'd _ever_ been slapped by another guy; by girls, definitely, Hilde had certainly smacked him a time or two when he'd irritated or scared her, but by guys? His grad total of being slapped across the face for real by a guy was currently at two, and he didn't think Heero was in a mood to discuss it. come to think of it, Heero'd been in a bad mood since Relena had broken up with him...

Or had Heero broken up with Relena? Duo suddenly wasn't sure, he'd just assumed that Relena had ended it. After all, Heero'd put up with the girl for nearly four years, what was the point in getting fed up at such a late –

_Thump._

Duo'd walked straight into Heero's back. The Japanese boy had stopped at another intersection.

Heero whirled. "Watch where you're going, _baka_!" he was glaring.

"Sorry," Duo muttered. He was really spacing today. _What was with him?_ For a split second, he'd caught the scent of cinnamon again, and hopped that Heero would grab him as he had earlier. Then maybe he could get some answers.

Heero'd been incredibly drunk the night of the Prom, and Duo had noticed the other boy had drunk a considerably smaller amount on all future occasions. But, once, Duo'd managed to make Heero remarkably furious (he couldn't remember how), and somehow in the course of the fight that had followed, Heero had pinned Duo in a corner and had been very close – he'd smelled cinnamon then, too, Duo suddenly remembered – and Duo could have sworn the other boy had been only a heartbeat away from kissing him again. Quatre and Trowa had come in, and pried Heero off, joking about anger management for Heero and gags for Duo... Maybe if Duo could get Heero mad again? The short-haired boy was tense already, it probably wouldn't take much.

_May as well dive right in._

"Heero?"

"Hn?" Heero was fumbling for his key to the apartment building.

"Why'd you slap me?"

"What?" Heero opened the door and held it for Duo.

"When I almost crossed the street," Duo prompted. "You slapped me."

"You deserved it," Heero answered shortly, hitting the elevator button.

"But you _slapped_ me," Duo persisted. "Guys don't slap other guys. That's, like, cat fighting, or something."

"What's your _point_, Maxwell?" Heero hit the button again.

"Just that it's kinda girly for a guy to slap another guy across the face."

"I'll slap you again if you don't shut up," Heero growled. "Damn thing!" he punched the button a third time, and the elevator door slid open.

"Maybe we should get Q to get this thing checked," Duo remarked cheerfully as they piled in with all their bags.

"It's older than I am," the blue-eyed boy grunted, and hit the buttons for seven and eight.

The door creaked shut, and the elevator began its slow, fitful ascent.

The old lift wasn't very large and, despite the several double-fist-sized regulation air vents, it was hot and a little stuffy. Both boys dumped their bags of the floor, causing the whole compartment to shudder and slow to a crawl, so they could divest themselves of the autumn jackets they'd worn outside.

"You've been awfully tense, lately, Hee-chan," Duo commented as they passed the third floor apartment.

"Don't call me that," Heero growled.

Fourth floor.

"Do I really remind you that much of Relena, Hee-chan?"

_Jackpot._

Heero grabbed Duo savagely by the front of his shirt. "Stop calling me that," he hissed.

Fifth floor.

The shorter boy tried ineffectually to brush off the hand fisted in his shirt front. _Maybe the plan to tick Heero off wasn't so good after all, but maybe just a little..._ "Come on, Hee-chan, lighten up."

"I said _stop calling me that_!" Heero roared, lifting Duo bodily into the air and slamming him forcefully into the wall.

The rickety elevator shuddered again, screeched, and stopped. The lights snapped off. The tiny emergency light cast a dim glow over the small compartment.

"Violet," Heero whispered, all the anger gone from his face; he didn't seem to notice the stopped elevator or the lights. "They're violet." He was staring into Duo's face, which was even with his, for once, due to the fact that Duo was being pinned to the wall several inches above the ground.

"Heero? You okay?" _Definitely a bad plan..._ though they were so close... close enough to kiss. Duo abruptly realized he wanted Heero to kiss him very badly. But due to Heero's grip he was finding it hard to breathe – not that he wanted to breathe in Heero's face, what if his breath was bad? – and the elevator had definitely just broken down halfway between the sixth and seventh floors. Plus Heero was zoned out. _Overall, BAD PLAN!_

"Heero?" Duo tried again, carefully not breathing on the boy holding him against the wall.

"Huh?" Heero blinked and looked around.

"The elevat – umf!"

Heero dropped the smaller boy to the ground.

"Ow!"

"_Gomen_," Heero took a few hasty steps backwards, and ran into the opposite wall. He looked strangely unsettled. "The elevator?" he asked.

Duo glared up at the Japanese boy from his position on the floor. "You broke it," he said. "And no one's home to hear us yell for help."

"No one's..."

"Wufei's at Meiran's, and Quatre and Tro are at a concert. We're stuck 'til someone gets home and sees the emergency light on in the lobby."

Heero swore under his breath and sank to the floor.

Silence reigned.

"Lord and butter it's hot in here," Duo muttered after a while. "Mind if I take my shoes off?"

Heero scowled, but shook his head, so Duo yanked off his shoes and socks. A moment later, Heero followed suit. Thankfully, there was no accompanying unpleasant odor.

"You really have been awfully tense lately, Heero," Duo said a little later, figuring it was as good a time as any to broach the subject, after all, Heero couldn't storm off, and if he killed Duo, he'd be stuck in a hot elevator with a corpse for an unknown period of time.

"What business is it of yours?"

"You used to talk to me," Duo pointed out, feeling a little hurt, even though he hadn't really expected much of an answer.

"We were friends."

_We _were_ friends?_ Duo had a sick feeling in his stomach. "Aren't we friends anymore?"

Heero didn't answer.

The silence felt like a fist.

"So that's why you hate being around me so much lately." It all made sense, now. And here he'd been thinking they might have had something, that maybe Heero didn't known how to loosen up, and that's why he'd only kissed Duo when he'd been trashed. What a fool he'd been. "Do you hate me, too?" he didn't really want to know. "Was it something I did?"

"What do you think?"

_Shit._ "But I didn't do anything!" Duo was practically wailing.

"Shut up." Heero looked exasperated. "Of course you didn't do anything. You _never_ do anything."

_What?_

"Well, guess what, Maxwell, maybe it's your turn to do something."

_Your turn. It's your turn._ The words echoed. _Stupid, Duo, that's stupid. He doesn't even want to be friends anymore._

The heat in the lift was really bad. Heero had unbuttoned his shirt, and now he shrugged out of it.

Duo's breath hitched at the sight. He'd seen Heero without a shirt before, but had always automatically made himself ignore it; Heero was his friend, and straight, so there was no point ogling the perfect tan skin, or the beautifully sculpted chest and arms... but now... _Still no point,_ Duo reminded himself. _He's still straight, and now you're not even friends, remember?_ To distract himself, he pulled off his own shirt, which was sticking to him unpleasantly. Then he risked another glance at Heero.

The slender boy was glaring fixedly at the wall.

"Does this have to do with Relena?" Duo wondered, then bit his traitorous tongue when he realized he'd said it out loud.

"_What_?"

"Is it somehow my fault she dumped your sorry ass?" _Way to stop pissing him off, Maxwell. Guess it doesn't matter anymore, though..._

"First of all," Heero was on his feet, skin glistening with sweat in the dim light, "Relena did not 'dump my sorry ass.' We got in a fight, as we've done before, and will again, I'm sure. I decided I'd had enough, and I told her so. She was less than thrilled, and decided she wanted to make up. I told her to go to hell."

Duo hadn't realized he'd stood up. A tiny piece of his mind cheered that Heero had finally told the blonde off. "Betcha never slammed _her_ against elevator walls," the words slipped from his mouth before he realized he'd even thought them. He could have swallowed his tongue. _What is wrong with me?_

"_She_ doesn't try to hit _me_, either," Heero snapped. "Nor does she irritate me to the point where I want to strangle her to death as often as you do."

"I don't hit you!" Duo exclaimed indignantly.

"I said _try_." The glint in Heero's eyes was almost feral.

Duo grunted, _I'll show him try,_ and lunged, swinging his fist.

Heero avoided the swing easily, and, catching Duo off-balance, flipped the smaller boy onto his back, shaking the elevator in the process.

Duo's head spun, and throbbed where it had hit the floor. He briefly closed his eyes against the dizziness, blinking several times to clear his vision. When he could see, he almost wished he couldn't.

Heero was pinning him to the ground, holding his wrists firmly to the floor above his head, and glaring viciously down at him.

"Are you going to kill me, then?" Duo asked helplessly, almost expecting and affirmative, half hoping for one. Heero obviously hated him now, had threatened death often enough even when they were friends, and now there was nothing to hold him back, was there? So was there really any point in trying anymore?

But then, miraculously, Heero's expression changed. He looked almost... _confused_?

_That can't be right._

"No," Heero shook his head. "I'm not going to kill you. I'd never kill you." His voice was soft, as if he were talking to himself. "Violet," he said for the second time that afternoon, staring intently at Duo. "They're violet."

"What's violet?" Duo breathed, amazed at both the strange huskiness to Heero's whisper, and the look of confused wonderment on his face.

"Your eyes," came the soft, heart-stopping reply.

Duo just stared, forgetting his aching head and the slight pain in his tightly gripped wrists, forgetting the heat and the sweat dripping down his body, forgetting he was pinned to the floor, forgetting that Heero's weight on top of him was starting to get heavy. All he saw were Heero's blue eyes looking into his own. His gaze shifted to Heero's mouth, mere inches above his own.

They'd been in a similar position last time... _It's your turn._

_Please, God, this could be my only chance... let it work._

Duo stretched his neck as far as he could, and pressed his lips firmly against Heero's, eyes fluttering shut just as Heero's went wide.

He pulled back a moment later, opening his eyes and looking up at the stronger boy who was still pinning him to the ground.

Heero dragged his own eyes open. "What was that?"

"It was my turn," Duo explained in a whisper, hoping his gamble hadn't failed miserably, hoping he wasn't about to be knocked into the middle of the following week, which was what any self-respecting straight man would do to a guy who'd kissed him full on the mouth. "You told me that I had to kiss _you_ next time. So I did." _No more wondering. No more hiding. I guess Hilde was right about me, at least, for better or worse._

Heero was staring at him strangely.

Duo gave him a weak grin. "Tag, you're it?"

Heero stared at him a moment longer, then started to chuckle, then to laugh. He still hadn't moved or loosened his grip on Duo's wrists.

"What's so funny?" Duo demanded, more confident now that he wasn't about to meet his Maker.

"You are," Heero replied, and stopped laughing. Suddenly, he looked almost shy. "You never... I didn't want to push... and Hilde... but then she left... I waited... didn't have the courage to just... with anyone else, but not..."

"Heero?" Duo was totally confused.

"...Why I never drank much anymore..." Heero tried to explain. "Didn't want... if you didn't want... but I _hoped_..."

"You're not mad?" was all Duo could manage to ask, cutting Heero off.

"No!" it was almost choked out.

"I thought you hated me..."

"Never..."

"You always get so angry..."

"Easier to get angry than..."

"You said we weren't friends anymore..."

"I didn't, you did..."

"Kiss me?"

Heero bent down and very gently did as he was bidden, carefully coaxing Duo's lips apart.

Duo responded, eagerly welcoming Heero's exploration of his mouth, and the kiss quickly deepened, becoming passionate.

Duo was suddenly very aware that neither of them was wearing a shirt, and that Heero, who was still pinning him down, was straddling his hips. Experimentally, almost hesitantly, he shifted against the other boy. Heero moaned into his mouth and pressed closer still, bringing their bodies even more fully into contact as he ravaged the younger boy's mouth.

This was _nothing_ like the first time Heero'd kissed him. This was amazing, incredible – Duo couldn't find an appropriate word, didn't even care that he couldn't – it was like this wonderful force that was Heero had crashed into his mind and exploded, taking him over completely. And it no longer mattered that they were stuck in a tiny, hot elevator. All that mattered was that they were there with each other, and _Heero_ was kissing him fiercely and...

Suddenly, Heero pulled back. His face was flushed and he was breathing hard, almost panting.

Duo stared up at him for several long moments, panic starting to rise when Heero said nothing. "Is something wrong?" _'Is something wrong?' How stupid is that? Of _course_ something's wrong, you idiot!_

"Duo," Heero paused, chewing softly on one already bee-stung lip.

Duo's heart clenched, preparing for what, he didn't know.

"Duo, are you sure you want this?" it came out in an uncharacteristic rush. "I wanted to kiss you the moment I first saw you, all those years ago, but I told myself 'no, that's not right, you're both guys,' so we were friends. Then you were with Hilde, and I was with Lena, and then so much happened so fast, and I was so confused, but..." Heero paused and took a breath, almost as if trying to slow down, but then he was off again. "And then we had Junior Prom, and I never would have dared, but I'd been drinking, and I wasn't really thinking about what might happen, so I took a chance, but then you pushed me away, so I didn't wanna push you again, and I swore to myself that I never would, unless you wanted..." he took another breath, "And a few times I almost cracked, when I got so close to you, but I just _couldn't_, and now..." he trailed off, looking very unsure of himself.

"I was scared," Duo admitted after what seemed like a very long silence, suddenly understanding that all this time that he'd been obsessing over Heero, and trying not to, Heero'd been doing the exact same thing over _him_. And now Heero was worried that he'd made a mistake that he wouldn't be able to fix. "Prom night, all this time... I'm scared now, but I do want this." He wanted to reach up and smooth Heero's messy hair away from his eyes, but still couldn't move his arms. "I want this," he said again.

Heero's entire face lit up, his eyes sparkling like sapphires in the half-light of the emergency lamps. He pressed another light, gentle kiss to Duo's lips. "I want this, Duo. I want it more than... more than..."

"Ice cream?" Duo volunteered, then mentally kicked himself for such a stupid comment ruining the moment.

Heero, however, chuckled, and the vibrations in his chest sent a thrill through Duo, they were pressed so close together. "Way more than ice cream." He leaned in for another kiss, but Duo pulled back slightly.

A flicker of worry passed over Heero's face.

"Uh, Heero?"

"Yes?"

"Uh," Duo hesitated, not really wanting to say it, but it had to be said...

A/N: heeheeheehee! ::laughs wickedly:: don't _you_ wanna know what he's gonna say? ::laughs again then runs for cover::


	3. 2 I Want You

**Disclaimer:** I don't own GW, Savage Garden, or anything else I may have alluded to, much to my sorrow, so please don't sue, all you'll get is pocket lint anyhow, and I'm sure you already have as much of your own as you could possibly want

**Warning:** fluffy cotton candy and citrusy goodness. Some Relena bashing. Shounen-ai, yaoi (if you don't know what it is, you shouldn't be here). AU. If this isn't your cup of tea, go drink coffee or something.

**Apologies:** sorry it's taken so very long to update! ::ducks rotten fruits:: life has been majorly hectic and often hell-like since school started up again, and I have very little time to write. Plus Heero's head is like a rock and very hard to get into, and doesn't like me as much as Duo's anyway, so this took a lot of time I didn't have to write. And I'm a Boston girl, so I've obviously had important things to be watching on TV!!!! Go RED SOX!! WE LOVE YOU!! Sorry, I'm a bit of a fanatic! Thanx to everyone who reviewed, please, bear with me, I know I'm difficult. I haven't forgotten you, and I loved your reviews, they give me the encouragement I need to write. I know this is shorter than usual, but I hope you like it!

**In the Savage Garden**

…

"Uh," Duo hesitated, not really wanting to say it, but it had to be said…

_Come and stand a little bit closer_

_Breathe in and get a bit higher_

_You'll never know what hit you_

_When I get to you…_

**Ch. 2 – I Want You**

… "Uh, Heero, you're kinda heavy."

Heero stared, then started laughing. Not chuckling this time either, but full out laughter full of relief.

**Switch POV**

Duo looked incredibly awkward after his statement, and more than a little uncomfortable lying there, pinned to the floor, but Heero couldn't help thinking how adorable Duo looked with that partially embarrassed, partially confused expression on his face.

"It's not all that funny," Duo grumbled, pouting a little as he realized that Heero was laughing at _him_.

Heero managed to stop laughing, but couldn't seem to stop grinning. He hadn't been sure what Duo would say, but he'd been expecting much worse, and was incredibly thankful that Duo hadn't suddenly changed his mind. He released the smaller boy's wrists and rolled off him.

Duo, however, didn't move. "Was it really _that_ funny?" he sounded upset.

"No! I was just relieved you didn't – " Heero hurried to reassure Duo, then stopped abruptly when he realized the corners of the American's mouth were twitching as he fought to keep from smiling. He let out an exasperated noise. "Don't _do_ that!" he growled.

Duo, smirking a little, sat up and rubbed at his wrists. "You're just so easy to tease, Hee – " he stopped himself, but Heero wasn't listening, he was staring with some chagrin at Duo's wrists, having just noticed the marks his fingers had left on the skin.

_You ass, Yuy. Look what you've done now!_

"Heero?" Duo quirked an eyebrow at the older boy, still gently rubbing his wrists.

"I'm really sorry, Duo," Heero managed to say at last, fighting to keep his face from going red in shame. _Why the hell can't you control your own damn strength?_

Duo immediately stopped massaging his wrists, his smirk fading for a moment, only to be replaced by a cheery smile. "Don't sweat it, I'm fine."

_That smile looks so fake…_ "Don't bullshit me, Maxwell," Heero snapped, and winced inwardly at the harsh tone of his voice. _Way to apologize, Yuy. You're already screwing this up, and it's been what, barely five minutes? Now presenting Heero Yuy, Master of the short-term relationship…_

The smile had vanished from Duo's face, and in its place he wore a rare serious expression.

"I didn't really mean to hurt you," Heero said quickly, still inwardly berating himself. "It's just…"

Duo held up a hand, silencing him. "It's okay, Heero, really. I can take it. I'm a big boy. It's not that bad. I mean, you and Fei seem to make a point of knocking me on my ass at least once a week, and even Tro feels like he's gotta try it every once in a while. So I'm used to it by now. Besides, my head barely hurts anymore."

"Your head – ?" _Of course, he hit it on the floor!_ Heero's eyes narrowed slightly. _And it still hurts him…_ "I thought you didn't lie."

Heero could see Duo's blush even in the dim light. "I'm not lying," the braided boy insisted. "I'll be fine. Besides," he gave the Japanese boy a crooked grin, "who needs wrists anyway?"

"Duo…"

"I mean it. I'll be fine. Don't beat yourself up over it." Duo's grin grew cocky, and in the half-light his violet eyes glittered with mischief. "I don't mind it a little rough," he lowered his voice, even though no one else was there, and his voice could almost be described as sultry. "Hilde had quite the wild side, you know." He winked at the startled look on Heero's face, then promptly destroyed the effect by laughing.

Heero felt himself relax: Duo's laugh tended to do that to him. He sat back against the wall of the lift, facing the longhaired boy.

Duo, leaning against the opposite wall, glanced at the distance between them, then gave Heero a rueful look. "Guess the mood's ruined, huh?"

"Hn," Heero grunted. The mood _was_ gone. But Duo… _God,_ thought Heero. He looked quickly at the floor to keep from staring. Duo was… breathtaking. No matter how often they were together, no matter how many times Heero looked at his friend, it always felt the same: like the lights had gone out everywhere else and Duo was the only thing he could see.

And Duo had no idea. The cheerful actor joked about his looks often enough, but he didn't seem to really know how simply amazing he truly was. And there he was, lounging against the wall dressed in nothing but a worn pair of jeans, his ever-present cross, and a bit of a quirky grin, skin glistening in the faint light from the heat, braid slightly mussed from their… tussle: he was sin incarnate.

All Heero wanted to do was grab the longhaired player, wrestle him to the ground again, and thoroughly ravish him. _God_ he wanted to. But for all Duo's flirting and teasing, the little devil was far more innocent than most people assumed. And far more innocent than Heero. After all, the charming brunet had taken being Hilde's boyfriend seriously, the commitment had meant something to him, as it had to her. And though he'd done his best to hide it, Hilde's decision to move out had really done a number on him. Had Duo been anyone else, he would have locked himself in his apartment for months. As it was, his personality was such that he couldn't do anything so drastic that it would be obvious to everyone how upset he really was, but he'd avoided going anywhere where he might have been forced to interact one-on-one with anyone who might have been a potential date.

That was the first thing that needed to be done, Heero decided, still staring fixedly at the floor. Duo had to start going out and having fun again. Parties, clubs, bars… _There's that new club that just opened downtown, it's a bit eccentric, but I'll bet Duo loves it, in fact, it'd probably be perfect for him…_

"You ok, Heero?" Duo's worried voice broke into Heero's planning.

Heero looked up, startled, and regretted it the moment the thrill receded. _This is _not_ the time,_ Heero told himself firmly, _to tackle him to the ground again and – no._ He sharply cut off his train of thought.

"Heero?"

Duo's tone made Heero forget all his inappropriate temptations in an instant. The American boy actually sounded nervous. It took Heero a moment to figure out why, and when it finally dawned on him, he felt the urge to kick himself. Duo thought he'd done something wrong, that Heero's sudden retreat and withdrawal behind his trademark non-committal grunts was because of something Duo had said.

"I'm fine," Heero told him, then, realizing more explanation was necessary, hurried to add, "I just needed to think."

"Think?" Duo still sounded apprehensive.

"About us," Heero said, and winced. _Stupid. That sounds terrible._ "I mean you." _That's no better._ "I mean, about what I, er, we should do." _Definitely worse._ "That is, um, how we could, uh, _where_ we could, er, go. Out, I mean. That is, if you wanted to. Go. Out. Together. With me. Without the others. Together." He could feel his face getting warm. _Since when am _I_ a stumbling idiot?_

Duo's smile was genuine, and filled with relief. "I'd like that."

"Yeah." Heero felt a responding smile cross his own face. "Maybe tomorrow – " he started to say, when the elevator gave a shudder, and plummeted.

Both boys screamed.

Then, as suddenly as it had started to fall, it jerked to a halt.

Heero and Duo, who had both frantically tried grabbing at the walls and floors and bags around them, stared at each other.

The doors inched open to reveal the ground floor lobby, followed first by the smirking green eyes of Trowa Barton, then the cheerful face of Quatre Winner, who was happily singing one of his old songs.

"Hey, there!" Quatre broke off singing to greet the boys staring up at him from the floor. "Been stuck long?"

"Hour," Heero replied, once he had recovered from the shock. "Maybe more."

"And Duo's still alive?" Trowa queried.

"You don't need to sound so surprised," Duo grumbled.

Tro shrugged. "Heero's been really on edge with you, lately."

_Even Trowa noticed?_ Heero thought with chagrin. _WHY is it so damn much easier to get mad and start hitting things than it is to just keep my mouth shut?_

Quatre laughed in that irritatingly knowing way he had when both newly freed boys muttered "whatever," and hastily began to dress and gather their things from the elevator.

"Why didn't Fei release the elevator?" Trowa wanted to know.

"Maybe because he's not here," Duo's tone was slightly sour. "He abandoned us in our time of need." He sounded incredibly hurt.

"He's at Meiran's," Heero amended, "And he was already gone when we got here." He looked at Duo, though he continued to speak to the others. "Duo's just making up lies to elicit pity."

"I don't lie," Duo growled – Heero felt a pleasant shiver along his spine in response to the sound – "I was just trying to improve the truth, that's all."

"So you could have been stuck in there all night," Quatre commented, cutting in, a bit of a smirk on his face that matched Trowa's. "Just the two of you. How horrible. Aren't you glad our concert ended early?" Almost like it was an afterthought, the blond turned to his braided friend. "Say, Duo, what happened to your wrists? They look pretty red. That must hurt."

"Heero tried to kill me," Duo responded, not missing a beat.

Heero sent the younger boy a glare.

Duo gave him a quick grin in return.

_Is he going to tell them what happened?_ Heero wondered silently. _Do I want him to? Do I want them to know? Does he? Should I tell them if he doesn't? What do I do? What do _we_ do? Is he as confused as I am? It's impossible to tell! He's too good an actor, and has had far too much practice hiding his true feelings._

Quatre and Trowa exchanged a glance, both looking smug.

"You finished the errands, then?" Tro asked.

Heero and Duo both nodded, and handed off the requested items to their proper owners.

Tro nodded his thanks. "We're going back out in a bit for a late dinner, if you want to join us."

Quatre was humming a new song, another of the oldies Heero was unfamiliar with.

_I guess I could go with them, if Duo does,_ Heero thought. _And Duo's not likely to pass up a free meal._

"I think I'll pass," Duo said, just as Heero opened his mouth to accept. "I got a movie. I just want to stay in tonight. Thanks, though."

Heero shut his mouth, mind racing. _Should I stay, too, then? Does he want me to stay here? Or is he trying to tell me he wants to be alone? Should I go with them? Maybe he's not sure either. Maybe I should stay, and ask him if he wants to do something. Or maybe I should just stay, and if he wants to talk or… whatever, I'll be here._

"Maybe next time," Heero finally said. "I don't feel much like going out."

"All right. See you, then." Trowa headed for the stairs.

"Stay out of the elevator," Quatre warned, a private grin on his face. "Wouldn't want you two to be trapped together again." He winked, then headed after his boyfriend singing again. "Celia, you're breaking my heart, you're shaking my confidence daily. Oh, Cecilia, I'm down on my knees, I'm begging you please to come home…"

Heero shook his head as Quatre's voice faded away up the stairwell, and glanced askance at the boy next to him. _Say something, Duo. Please say something, 'cause I don't know what to say…_

"So, uh, you're staying in?" Duo asked in a very would-be-casual kind of voice.

"Yeah." _Don't sound too desperate, that's just sad._ "Thought I'd just relax after running around all afternoon. Catch up on some reading, maybe."

"Oh, I see." Duo looked a little disappointed. "Yeah, me too. Well, no. I was gonna watch a movie. Not read. Just relax and watch a movie, you know. Eat. Nothing too exciting. Just kinda crash. Yeah." He fell silent, shifting his weight from foot to foot. He never could just be still.

_Say something, Yuy!_ Heero yelled at himself. _He wants to do something. You could watch the movie together. It'd be a start, at least. This is just damn awkward. And it's stupid._ "So, um, what movie did you get?"

"_Fight Club_," Duo responded. "Ever seen it?" he looked slightly hopeful.

"'Course," Heero replied, then mentally kicked himself. Hard. "It's one of those movies you never get tired of watching again, isn't it?"

"Yeah! It is." Duo visibly brightened. "So, um, I'm just gonna microwave a pizza or something. Nothing fancy, but, uh… You wanna come over and watch with me?"

"Sure. I'd love to." Heero felt a smile on his lips as he gave an inner sigh of relief.

"Great!" Duo's eyes had lit up, and he led the way up the stairs with an extra little spring to each step.

Heero felt his smile grow.

They climbed in silence for a few minutes.

"I'm gonna shower and change," Heero remarked, hunting for his key as they neared the seventh floor. "I'm still kinda sweaty from the elevator." _Wow, now _that_ doesn't sound too awkward,_ Heero berated himself mentally, and quickly added, "Hope Quatre gets it fixed soon. Call me when you're ready to watch, all right?"

"Kay," Duo nodded cheerfully, braid bouncing, obviously either missing or ignoring Heero's verbal blunder. "Talk to you in a bit!" And he took off, bounding up the stairs, disappearing around the corner before Heero'd even gotten his door unlocked.

Heero entered his apartment and shut the door behind himself, automatically locking it. He dumped his load on a chair in his living room, glancing around out of habit.

_All right,_ he thought, heading for his bedroom. _Shower and change._

He opened his closet and started poking through. _What the hell should I wear?!_

…

A/N: So, uh, I realized I didn't exactly explain everything in Affirmation, and stuff… Medea is the title character of a Greek tragedy by Euripides, and Jason is the guy who dumps her after she's saved his life multiple times and had two sons with him (who she kills as part of her revenge fling, by the way). The play is pretty intense. The story takes place after the myth of Jason and the Argonauts, or before Theseus and the Minotaur, whichever way you want to look at it, though it's more connected to the Jason story. All those myths connect to each other, the geek in me loves six degrees of separation with characters from Greek mythology, which is probably more than anyone needed to know. So before this note gets to be longer than the chapter, the song Heero and Duo are listening to after the Junior Prom is 'I Knew I Loved You' by Savage Garden (naturally), in case you didn't pick up on that. _Fight Club_ is a great movie with Brad Pitt and Edward Norton, you have to see it to get it, and if you see it and think "that's not my kind of movie" give it a chance anyway, 'cause when I first saw it, it wasn't my kind of movie either, and I loved it anyway. What else, what else… oh, fencing. I fence, going on nine years now, it's a great sport, I'm foil, though I've done epée (which is a great crossword puzzle word, by the way!), and saber is cool to watch, though saber fencers can be scary (they yell a lot more than the rest of us). And if you don't know who Elvis is and was and will always be, you need some serious help. Not that I'm trying to be mean, mind you, I'm just blunt. Um… um… "Cecilia" is a song by Simon and Garfunkel. Did I miss anything? If I did, let me know, and I'll add it next time. ANYWAY… ::looks innocently off at the sky, twiddling thumbs, and whistling a merry tune::


	4. 3 To the Moon & Back

**Disclaimer:** I don't own GW, Savage Garden, or anything else I may have alluded to, much to my sorrow, so please don't sue, all you'll get is pocket lint anyhow, and I'm sure you already have as much of your own as you could possibly want

**Warning:** fluffy cotton candy and citrusy goodness. Some Relena bashing. Shounen-ai, yaoi (if you don't know what it is, you shouldn't be here). AU. If this isn't your cup of tea, go drink coffee or something.

**In the Savage Garden**

…

"Kay," Duo nodded cheerfully, braid bouncing... "Talk to you in a bit!" And he took off, bounding up the stairs, disappearing around the corner before Heero'd even got his got unlocked…

_I would fly to the moon & back if you'll be…  
__If you'll be my baby  
__Got a ticket for a world where we belong  
__So would you be my baby…_

**Ch. 3 – To the Moon and Back**

… **Switch POV**

Duo took the stairs three at a time, bags banging against his legs with each step. He almost broke his key in the lock in his rush. He dumped his things in a pile by the door, keys on the nearby table, and made a beeline for the shower, shedding clothes as he went.

He turned the tap to hot, and finished undressing as the water heated up. He flicked the radio on high, and stepped under the spray as his favorite oldies began to blare.

_Gotta move quick,_ he reminded himself. _Maybe I should have put the pizza in first. Shit! Why didn't I put the pizza in first?_

He grabbed the bar of soap from its dish and began to work it to a lather between his hands.

_What if he's ready and just sitting around waiting for me? He's probably going to get bored, and pissed, that I take so long. Crap, then'll come the 'you take as long as a girl' cracks, and I don't want that from _him_! Of all the people, I don't wanna hafta make _Heero_ wait._

Quick, now. Soap arms, legs…

_God, but what if he _doesn't_ wait? What if he decides I'm taking so long it's a waste of his time, or he thinks that maybe I'm taking so long 'cuz I changed my mind and am really blowing him off, or something, and maybe he should just go out after all?_

Rinse, gotta hurry…

_Calm, breathe. He's not going to get pissed and leave. He wanted to shower, too. He can come up and we can wait for the pizza together. I could even ask him what he wants, so it's like I was being considerate, not slow, and _that_ way, I won't hafta worry over whether he likes it or not. Perfect. Just relax._

Duo dragged his fingers through his braid, loosening it so he could wash his hair.

"And now, another half hour of your old-time favorites!" the radio announced.

Duo began to shampoo his hair as the new song started, finally relaxing into his shower.

"If you look out your window tonight – Pull in the string with the note that's attached to my heeaaaart… Read how many times I saw you – How in my silence I adored you – And only in my dreams did that wall between us come apaaaart!" Duo sang, holding the end of his hair like a microphone, before rinsing and adding conditioner.

"I can hear your music playin'… I can feel your body swayin'… One floor below me you don't even know me, I looove you!" he sang into his hair.

"Oh, my darling! Knock three times on the ceiling if you waaant me! Ooo, twice on the pipe if the answer is nooo – I love you, I love you – oh my sweetness!" he hit the wall three times, "means you'll meet me in the haaallwaaay! Mmm, twice on the pipe – " bang, bang, "if you ain't gonna shooooooow!"

By the time the song ended, Duo had lathered, rinsed, and repeated, cleansing his hair of dirt, shampoo, and conditioner. He turned the tap off and hopped out, humming along with the new song.

He briskly toweled himself dry and wrapped the towel around his waist, using another big bath towel to get his hair off his back.

Still humming, he began to riffle through his closet for something to wear. And panic resurfaced. What was he supposed to wear on a first date? It had been so long since he'd had to think about dressing for a date, he'd never worried about it when he'd been with Hilde. He and Hilde had moved past the 'dating' stage so long ago, he didn't even know what to _do_ on a proper date anymore. Was this even a date at all? They weren't actually going anywhere, or doing anything they hadn't done a million times before as friends. But now it was different. Wasn't it? Why?

_Because we kissed?_

Duo had stopped paying attention to what he was doing, and merely stared at his clothes without seeing them.

_We kissed years ago. _That_ didn't mean we were dating. But now… but now what? Now we're both single. And we both need to move on. Oh, god, what if he's just rebounding? What if he thinks _I'm_ just rebounding? What if – no! Stop. Focus, Duo. Just take one step at a time. Get dressed. Get dinner ready. Talk about it when he's here. Get dressed. Now._

Duo turned back to his clothes, and groaned. "This is _hopeless_!" He bit his lip, and started his search.

Finally he found a pair of pants, but gave up on the shirt. He'd find something after he fixed his hair, he couldn't put one on first in any case: it would just get soaked.

He grabbed his favorite hairbrush and headed for the kitchen, leaving his towels in a pile on the bathroom floor.

He began to root through the freezer, then stopped, realizing he _still_ hadn't called Heero.

_Stupid. Stupid. Stupid._ He smacked his forehead, then proceeded to stare at the phone.

It didn't move.

Not that he'd been expecting it to, of course. It was a phone, after all, and phones didn't move of their own accord, even nice black ones with shiny screens. At least, he didn't think they did, and he was pretty sure that if a phone ever jumped off its hook to hula around the room, he would have heard about it, chocolate Christ, _every_one would have heard about it.

But it was awfully hard to stretch out his hand and pick up the phone. It was like the first time he'd ever gone on stage – the first and only time he'd suffered stage fright. He had butterflies in his stomach and his body didn't want to move.

_All right,_ Duo growled at himself. _Pick up the phone, and call. It's easy! Sweet and sour Mary, if I'm this over a damn _call_, what'll it be like if he's actually _here_? When he's standing right in front of me, with those _eyes Duo shivered and paused for a moment, wishing desperately for a mental printer, then shook himself. _This is pathetic. Just pick up the phone, and dial._

Duo picked up the phone, put it back, then picked it up again. _Dial, you stupid punk!_

He dialed, then gnawed anxiously on a thumbnail as the phone began to ring.

"Hello?" it was Heero's voice on the other end, Duo realized, half relieved, half apprehensive. Though who else would be answering Heero's phone Duo didn't know, and didn't want to think about.

Duo quickly took his hand away from his mouth, feeling more awkward than ever, and took a breath to make sure his voice was steady. "Hey! It's me!"

"Duo?"

"Yeah."

"Hi."

"Hi."

"Hi."

"… um… Didja wanna come watch the movie?"

"Of course! Now?"

"Now?" _Gulp._ "Um, dinner's not _quite_ ready yet…"

"That's all right. I don't mind waiting."

"Ok. Um, actually, dinner's not really _started_, so…"

"Do you want me to, er, order something?"

"Oh, no! I have food! You don't have to do anything! Just… what do you want? I have pizza, or I could do lasagna, or…"

"Pizza's fine."

"Cheese? Pepperoni? Some funny kinda – "

"Pepperoni's good."

"Pepperoni it is."

"All right."

"All right. So, uh, it'll be about fifteen minutes. Maybe a bit longer."

"Ok. See you in a few minutes."

"Kay. See ya."

"Bye."

"Bye."

_Click._

_And breathe._ Duo carefully put the phone back in its cradle. He stared at it for another long moment, still not expecting it to waltz across the room, just waiting for his heartbeat to settle back to a more reasonable pace. No matter what the irritably sensible part of his head yelled, his body refused to believe that calling his best friend on the phone was any less terrifying than being completely unprepared for the intense brilliance of the spotlight while trying to remember a speech on opening night, first time on stage, with a packed house.

After what seemed like an eternity, though in reality was probably under a minute, Duo no longer felt like he'd just run a marathon, and realized he could inhale properly again.

_Pepperoni. Pepperoni,_ he told himself, and dug around in his freezer until he came up with the appropriate box. He swiftly de-plasticked the pie within, and slid it into the microwave, punching the defrost button.

Checking his watch, Duo gave himself just shy of fifteen minutes to finish getting ready. He then headed for his room to dry and re-braid his hair, already pulling his brush through the tangled mass.

A new song began on the radio as Duo began the lengthy de-knotting process. Strangely, instead of being frustrated by the seemingly never-ending task of caring for such long hair, Duo tended to find the old routine soothing, almost more ritual than routine. He could lose himself in the steady motions and let himself relax. And the apartment was warm enough that he didn't mind getting a bit wet again – if he had, he'd have thrown a towel over his shoulders.

"Red, red wiiiine," Duo crooned along with the radio. "Stay close to meeee – Don't let me beeee alone – it's tearin' apaaaart – my blue, blue heart…" he trailed off, still humming, as he became absorbed in his task.

Duo was just about to plait his hair for his customary braid when several loud knocks on his front door broke him from his reverie. Startled, he almost dropped his hairbrush. The first thing he registered was that the song had changed, the second was the cause of the interruption: someone was at the door, knocking.

Alarmed, he checked his watch, but it had only been just over five minutes since he'd hung up the phone, so it wouldn't be Heero yet. Duo breathed a sigh of relief as he rose to his feet.

Who could it possibly be? Quatre, maybe? Or Trowa? To make sure he didn't want to go out? But they would have called…

Whoever it was knocked again, louder this time.

"I'm comin'!" Duo shouted, making his way to the door, not bothering to find a shirt or even put down his brush.

Could it be Hilde? She got impatient when he didn't answer immediately, and she liked showing up out of nowhere. He thought she'd said something about going out of town for a few days to visit… someone. Duo couldn't remember. Maybe she'd come to say goodbye.

Duo couldn't think of anyone else it might be. Catherine was still in LA, Wufei was at Meiran's, and Duo felt justified in assuming Meiran was there as well.

Duo yanked the door open, prepared to tell Hilde off for her lack of patience, and felt his breath catch in his throat.

It was not Hilde standing outside his door, fist poised to rap on the wood once more. It was Heero. And he looked _far_ too good to be spending the evening in a friend's apartment for a night of microwave pizza and old movies.

Granted, his clothes were simple enough: comfortable-looking jeans and a fitted black tee. His hair was messy as always, though damp from recent washing. But despite his casual appearance, the man practically oozed sex appeal.

"Hey," Duo managed to choke out, after a long moment of stunned silence, thinking, _If anyone can pull of the bed-head look, it's Heero._

"Hey," Heero repeated, dropping his hand back to his side and blinking rapidly. He'd been staring at Duo as intently as Duo'd been staring at him.

Duo suddenly felt very self-conscious. It all came crashing back to him, that he was standing in his doorway, shirtless, and sprinkled with water from his still-unbound hair. He felt his face heat up.

"Uh, sorry," he mumbled, feeling incredibly awkward. "I didn't really expect you just yet. The food's not done."

"Oh," Heero looked nearly as uncomfortable as Duo felt. "I figured it'd be okay if I just came up. Thought we could talk while the pizza heated, or something." He shifted a bit. "Um…"

_This is bad,_ Duo thought. _The apartment's a mess. I could've at least hung up the towels!_

"I didn't realize you weren't dressed, or…" Heero was trying not to stare, and trying not to make it obvious that he had to try. He was failing miserably.

_Crap. Shirt! Hair!_

"Did you, uh, want me to go, and maybe come back in – "

_No!_

"No!" Duo managed to get out. "I… um… I was just startled, is all."

_Duo, you idiot. Stop standing in the doorway! He's still in the hall!_

"Er, come on in." He backed up hastily to allow the taller boy room to enter, mind frantically wondering how he could at least pick up the clothes and towels he'd left around the apartment before Heero noticed them, and ended up tripping over the rug in the entryway.

He went down, and Heero, crossing the threshold, got caught by Duo's wildly flailing limbs and fell heavily on top of him.

As everything went dark, Duo heard the voice on the radio cheerfully singing,

"_Come a little bit closer  
__You're my kinda man  
__So big and so strong  
__Come a little bit closer  
__I'm all alone  
__And the night is so long…"_

**A/N:** so, uh… sorry it's short? I've been crazy busy, please don't hurt me! Um… "Knock Three Times" is Tony Orlando and Dawn. "Red, Red Wine" is UB40, and "Come A Little Bit Closer" is Jay and the Americans. Anything else? Oh, right. R & R!!! please!!! ::big puppy eyes:: I'll love you forever and ever if you do!!!


	5. 4 The Best Thing

**Disclaimer:** I don't own GW, Savage Garden, or anything else I may have alluded to, much to my sorrow, so please don't sue, all you'll get is pocket lint anyhow, and I'm sure you already have as much of your own as you could possibly want

**Warning:** fluffy cotton candy and citrusy goodness. Some Relena bashing. Shounen-ai, yaoi (if you don't know what it is, you shouldn't be here). AU. If this ain't your style, it's your loss, it's not really my place to tell you what to wear.

**In the Savage Garden**

…

As everything went dark, Duo heard the voice on the radio cheerfully singing,

"_Come a little bit closer  
__You're my kinda man  
__So big and so strong  
__Come a little bit closer  
__I'm all alone  
__And the night is so long…"_

…

_Farewell peace of mind kiss goodbye to reason  
__Up is down the impossible occurs each day  
__This intoxication thrills me  
__I only pray it doesn't kill me…_

**Ch. 4 – The Best Thing**

Someone was calling Duo's name. It was faint though, and sounded far away. He felt like he was floating – a nice, if odd, sensation – and he didn't want to listen. Duo knew something unpleasant was waiting for him in the realm of consciousness, and he was not eager to return to it.

The voice was persistent, however, and refused to fade completely. On the contrary, it grew louder.

The pleasant feeling of weightless floating vanished, replaced by a throbbing pain in Duo's skull.

He forced his eyes open, swallowing a moan of pain.

Two deep blue eyes stared back at him from scant inches away.

Duo blinked

The blue retreated as the owner pulled back.

"Heero?" Duo managed to croak. _Why is Heero here?_ Duo couldn't remember, his head hurt too much.

"How are you?" Heero asked; he looked worried.

"My head hurts," Duo admitted, slightly confused. _Why am I on the floor?_ For some reason, he seemed to be holding his hairbrush. "What happened?"

"You fell," Heero replied, looking suddenly awkward.

"I fell?"

Heero nodded, but wouldn't meet Duo's gaze.

Duo managed a scowl, suspecting the Japanese boy was hiding something: Heero was a lousy liar. The younger boy tried to sit up. His head protested the movement, and a groan escaped before he could stop it.

"Be careful," the short-haired boy commanded sternly, steadying the smaller boy with one arm.

Heat flared at Heero's touch and Duo suddenly became very aware that he was sitting on the floor in his hallway with no shit and his hair damp and unbound. He also remembered why, as the pain in his head eased slightly and his memory returned. He groaned again.

"Duo?" Heero's face was once again etched with concern. At another time, Duo might have found it sweet, under the current circumstances, however, it just increased his embarrassment. "Is it your head?" Heero asked attentively.

"No." _I couldn't have been out more than a minute,_ Duo realized, noting the radio was still mockingly playing Jay and the Americans.

"Something else?" Heero's concern deepened. "What hurts?"

"No," Duo said again, head in his hands, letting his hair drape around him, like a shield.

"No?" Heero was confused.

"Yes, my head hurts," Duo muttered to his palms. "No, that's not what's wrong."

"Then what – "

" 'Falling,' huh?" Duo couldn't bear to look up. "That might be the diplomatic way to put it, Yuy, but you suck at lying." _Should have just told me I was a fucking clumsy fool who tripped over his own damn feet. Have done with it._

**Switch POV**

_So that's it,_ Heero thought, relieved Duo hadn't been drastically injured, as his panic-filled mind had dreaded.

Then he noticed how dejected and miserable Duo looked, sitting half curled up under his loose hair.

(_Come to think of it,_ part of Heero suddenly realized, _I don't think I've ever seen him with his hair down before…_)

A wave of embarrassment washed over Heero about the whole thing. He tried to fight it – Heero Yuy did not get embarrassed.

He hadn't _really_ lied, Heero tried to reason with himself. After all, Duo _had_ fallen, clumsily over his own feet, perhaps, but it had still _technically_ been a fall.

Only… then Heero had fallen on top of him – also clumsily – and that had just been… awkward?

Awkward. Heero decided that was the best way to think of it. After all, anything else just wouldn't be appropriate at a time like that, and Heero was determined that whatever else happened – however this turned out – he would be appropriate where Duo was concerned; his long-haired friend deserved at least that. Duo was not Relena.

The embarrassment Heero was feeling over having been so clumsy himself as to fall on top of the other boy refused to fade. On top of that, the irritatingly paranoid voice in his head screamed that he'd somehow managed to botch the date, and thereby not only ruin any chance he might have had at a relationship with Duo, but he'd also likely destroyed their friendship – _well done!_ And of course there was the equally annoying voice that kept calling him an idiot and telling him he was overreacting, it probably wasn't a date anyway, he was behaving like a stupid, overeager schoolboy with a crush, and it was foolish to have his hopes so high anyway – once Duo knew the truth, it would be over. The violet-eyed beauty deserved so much better. A third voice chimed in then, informing him that he was staring – and it was rude.

Heero started to laugh. He couldn't help it. It was all just too much.

Duo peered up at the messy-headed boy through his veil of hair. "What's so funny?" he demanded after a long, unsuccessful, moment of waiting for the laughter to cease.

At last, Heero finally managed to get himself under a semblance of control. He couldn't remember the last time he had laughed so hard – assuming, of course, that there _had_ been a last time. "Just… everything," he gasped, breathless.

Duo raised a quizzical eyebrow, in what Heero had come to recognize as his "20 Questions" mode. He really did look ready to launch into one of his trademark streams of questions.

_Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beepbeepbeepbeep._

A buzzer was going off somewhere.

_Saved by the bell,_ Heero thought with an inner sigh of relief.

At the same moment, however, Duo started, and lurched to his feet with a groan. He clutched his head with one hand and the wall with the other – presumably to keep himself upright – and made tracks for the kitchen at a stumbling run.

Heero retrieved the hairbrush from the floor where Duo had dropped it, and followed, half concerned, half amused. He found Duo by the microwave, poking unhappily at a somewhat crispy-looking pepperoni pizza.

"Is everything all right?" Heero asked, stopping in the doorway.

Duo lifted woebegone eyes. "It's burnt."

Another burst of laughter forced its way from Heero. Duo looked like nothing so much as a sorrowful puppy.

"I'm… sorry…" Heero choked out between laughs. "It's just… it's just… you… look… so…" he gave up. "I'm sorry!" he dissolved again.

Duo pouted.

(A_dorable!_ thought Heero through his hilarity.)

"I didn't _mean_ to burn it," Duo grumbled. "_You_ landed on _me_, if you'll recall. Now I have _two_ bumps on my head to thank you for."

Heero immediately sobered, feeling a wave of guilt.

Duo noted Heero's abrupt mood change instantly, and went bright red. "I'm not trying to say it was your fault, or anything!" he said quickly.

Heero, distracted from his self-disgust by his friend's vehemence, arched an eyebrow at the other boy (who was still very shirtless, Heero thought, trying hard not to stare at the way little droplets of moisture from the still-unbound chestnut locks formed on smooth skin).

"Well, in the elevator it was your fault – not that I'm complai – but just now it wasn't you, 'cause it's not _your_ fault I can't keep my own damn feet under me, and – "

"Duo," Heero cut the rambling boy off.

A pink tinge colored the younger boy's cheeks. "Sorry," he muttered, looking intensely embarrassed.

_He's nervous,_ Heero suddenly realized, feeling more than ever like an idiot for not seeing it before. _I guess that makes two of us._

Duo started poking at the pizza again.

_Say something, you jackass,_ Heero growled at himself. "It's not _too_ burnt." He winced even as the words left his mouth. _Oh, that was deep. Brilliant, really. Behold the genius that is me._

"I guess," Duo muttered, obviously still upset.

Heero decided to take charge. "Look, why don't you finish fixing your hair and I'll set up in the living room."

"What?" Duo looked up, startled, as if he'd been lost in his own thoughts.

"Your hair?" Heero held out the brush. "It's dripping." He suppressed the urge to wince again at his choice of words, the lyrics to an old Broadway favorite coming forcefully to mind (1), and hurried to add, "You'll catch a cold if you're not careful."

"Right."

Duo stared at the hairbrush for a long second, as if trying to recall what he was supposed to do with it, before shaking himself. He practically snatched the brush from Heero's hand, then fled in the direction of his bedroom.

Heero stared after him for a moment, then he, too, shook himself and set about getting plates and glasses.

Heero found _Fight Club_ in one of the bags by the door (noticing as he searched that the various articles of clothing previously scattered across the floor had vanished).

From the hall, Heero could hear Duo humming along with the still-blaring music. The radio was still tuned into the American boy's favorite oldies station – he never played anything else in his apartment.

"_Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?  
__A nation turns its lonely eyes to you (wo wo wo).  
__What's that you say, Mrs. Robinson?  
__Joltin' Joe had left and gone away (hey hey hey, hey hey hey)_…"

Heero found himself softly singing along with the last stanza as he set up the movie, then returning to the kitchen for the pizza as the guitar sang the last measures alone.

"You going to spend all night preening, or can I expect company for dinner?" Heero called, determined for the mood of the evening to lighten.

"Way ahead of you, man," came Duo's reply from the living room, and Heero realized the radio hadn't started a new song. Apparently, it had been shut off.

Heero brought the pizza into the large living room and discovered Duo already sprawled comfortably on his couch. He felt a flash of disappointment to see that Dup had not only braided his hair, but had also pulled on a shirt, grey with pushed up black sleeves, that went well with the black cargo pants he'd already been wearing.

Duo, seemingly over his earlier spate of nerves, grinned as Heero entered the room.

"I come bearing food," Heero announced, deepening his voice to a low boom, wishing his own nerves would leave him alone as Duo's seemed to have done. (Though he wondered, almost hoping, if Duo was really as calm as he looked, the other boy was, after all, a consummate actor.)

Duo laughed. "And right welcome."

Heero set the pizza down next to the plates already on the table in front of the couch. He stood for a moment longer, unsure, then sat determinedly next to Duo on the couch, leaving enough space for an elephant to sit between them.

"Oy, Heero. You forgot the drinks!" Duo complained.

"Crap," Heero grumbled, and started to rise.

"Nah, I'll get 'em." Duo shoved Heero back down on the couch and scrambled to his feet. "What's your poison?"

Heero blinked.

"I've got everything," Duo went on. "Diet. Caffeine-free. Diet-caffeine-free." He chuckled. "Whatever sparks your fancy."

_Oh, soda,_ Heero thought. _Of course. He knows I don't drink._ "Anything's fine," he said, then, when Duo continued to look at him expectantly, he added, "Surprise me."

A wicked grin spread across Duo' face.

_Oh, shit._ "On second thought," Heero amended quickly, "A diet soda sounds good."

Duo laughed. "Diet it is." He vanished in the direction of the kitchen, the sound of his laughter trailing behind him.

Heero just sat there, determined to retrieve his customary cool façade. He couldn't lose his head. He'd have to tell Duo everything, and if he let himself get carried away, he might just blurt it out, and that would be, plainly, bad.

He wanted Duo to be able to trust him. He knew how important truth was to the boy who never lied. He'd seen how much Duo and Hilde had trusted each other; it was a big part of the reason they had worked so well together and lasted so long. And it was also a big part of why Heero was so confused by Hilde's abrupt decision to break it off. (He wondered briefly if Duo actually knew Hilde's reasons, the American boy had never said.)

"Think fast."

Heero's hand shot up automatically and caught the can that had been flying straight towards his face.

Duo was back.

**Switch POV**

Duo shook his head in wonder. "Nice catch," he said, and meant it. It always amazed him how fast Heero's reflexes were. He and the others never tired of testing them.

"Good thing," Heero drawled. "Was that supposed to be payback for landing on you in the hall?"

Duo snorted, flicked off the living room lights, and plopped down on the couch, slightly closer to the other boy than he'd been before. It was taking all his strength to just act casual: inside, he was a wreck. It didn't help that Heero had gotten over his own initial nerves so quickly, not that he had seemed particularly nervous to begin with, just a little shocked to see Duo answering the door half dressed. _Not that that's surprising,_ Duo berated himself. _I took absolutely forever to get ready. He probably never even had to wait that long for _Her_, and she's a primper if ever I saw one._

There was a snap and fizz as Heero popped his soda. "Want to start the movie?" he asked, reaching for the remote.

"Sure," Duo somehow managed to get out, miraculously sounding calm. He snapped open his own Diet Aliuqet, counting softly as he flipped the catch back and forth until it broke off at eight.

As the small piece of metal fell off into his hand, he realized there was a pair of dark blue eyes fixed on him.

"What?" he asked, fighting a blush at the intensity of the stare.

"What are you doing?" Heero queried.

"Oh." Duo felt the blush take over, and hoped the light coming from the hall and the TV screen wasn't strong enough for Heero to see it. "Um, counting."

"Really? I hadn't noticed."

Duo's face got even hotter. "Good thing you asked then," he informed the other boy, feigning ignorance of the heavy sarcasm.

"_Why_ were you counting?"

Duo bit his lip, desperate to say it was for no reason, but he didn't lie. "Old superstition," he muttered at last.

In the dim light, Duo could see Heero's raised eyebrow.

Duo sighed. _Great,_ he thought. _Now he's gonna think I _act_ like a stupid girl as well as taking as long as one to get ready._ "You count as you flip the tab," he explained. "The number of times it takes before it breaks off matches up with a letter of the alphabet. Then you flip the tab, like a coin," he did so, "and if it lands top up, like that," he pointed, "it means that the letter is the first letter of the first name of the person you're going to marry. If it lands bottom up, it's the first letter of the last name."

"What number did you get?" Heero didn't sound like he was making fun. In fact, he sounded genuinely curious.

"Eight," Duo replied, then mumbled, "It's always the same."

Duo could see Heero counting in his head, then saw the slight widening of the other boy's eyes.

"Eight's H." It almost sounded like a question.

Duo nodded. "Hilde always said it was fate – " Duo stopped. _Shit. I can't _believe_ I just said that. You're sitting here with _Heero_ and you bring up _Hilde_. Smooth, Maxwell. Very smooth._

"Hilde. Right." Heero shifted away slightly.

"I didn't mean…" Duo broke off. _Stupid. Stupid. Stupid._ "Heero starts with H, too," he blurted, then stuck his fist in his mouth, biting down. He wanted to sink into the ground. _What the HELL was that?_

But Heero had a strange, almost relieved, look on his face. "Yeah," he said after a minute. "It does."

Neither of them spoke for a long moment.

"So, movie?" Heero asked, finally breaking the silence.

"Yeah." Duo nodded.

Heero started the film, and sat back against the cushions, handing Duo a plate and a slice of pizza and munching on another himself.

It was one of Duo's favorite movies, but he couldn't seem to focus on it. His mind was a whirl of confusion.

_Is this a date, or not?_ his mind was demanding. _If it is, have I already screwed it up beyond repair? Or are we still ok? How do I _know_ if it's a date? Do I ask him? What if he laughs? What if we're really just hanging out? I don't wanna look like _more_ of an idiot. But if it _is_ a date, what do I _do

"Um… Duo?" Heero's voice suddenly broke into Duo's thoughts.

"Huh?" Duo tore his eyes away from the screen where, unseeing, he had fixed them.

Heero pointed in reply.

Duo followed the finger's trail to his plate, and saw the neat stack he'd made of the pepperoni he'd pulled off his pizza. Fighting another blush with all his worth, he looked back at Heero. Forcing a casual shrug, he explained, "I don't like pepperoni."

"Then why – " Heero began.

"It was in the freezer," Duo cut him off. When Heero looked ready to say something else, Duo quickly added, "Don't sweat it. I don't mind picking them off."

**Switch POV**

Duo clearly meant that to be the end of that conversation, for he turned back to the movie with a trace of finality in his movement.

But Heero's thoughts had started spinning again, and he could only stare blindly at the screen.

The pizza had been Hilde's, Heero realized now. Pepperoni was her favorite. Why hadn't he realized it before? He _knew_ Duo didn't like pepperoni, had known it for years. It was one of those little quirks Heero found so… endearing, if that was the right term. The boy who could, and would, eat anything hated something as simple as pepperoni.

_Idiot,_ Heero growled at himself for the millionth time that night. _You just keep finding ways of reminding him of her. The soda can, and now the pizza… What if he starts to compare you to her? You could never match up. Once he knows, he'll never even trust you. He trusted her._

_I can be different,_ Heero argued back. _I _am_ different. I can be good. Just because I was like that with Relena doesn't mean I'll be like that with _him_. Relena didn't mean anything to me, and I didn't mean anything to her. We both knew it, and we dealt with it. That doesn't meant that's who I am. It's not. It's –_

"Heero?" Duo's voice startled the Japanese boy out of his inner rant.

"Hai?" Heero's head snapped around to face his companion.

"I was wondering…" Duo trailed off, fidgeting with the end of his braid, eyes fixed on the movements of his fingers.

Heero waited, mind frozen.

"Um…" Duo paused again.

_What could have him nervous like this?_

"Uh…"

_What?_

"Er, is this…" Duo suddenly looked up, incredible violet eyes locking on Heero's blue. "Heero, is this a date?"

…

**A/N:** :laughs wickedly:

(1) The lyrics go back and forth between two people. It goes a lil' sumthin' like this:

"Ouch."  
"Oh, the wax. It's – "  
" – dripping. I like it between my – "  
"– fingers, I figured. Oh, well. Goodnight."

Name that musical! It's my personal fave. I'll try to think of some way of honoring anyone who gets it right! Bonus points for naming the song and the people singing it :laughs: … bonus points… :laughs again:

So, sorry if the apartment layout thing is confusing! It's confusing me, too. I have random scraps of paper with terrible sketches all over the place (I'm a horrible artist). The apartments were originally based on the home of a friend of mine, but then I realized it wouldn't do, since Quatre's family is loaded, and it would only make sense (in my head, anyway) for the apartments to be big, and nice, even if the elevator is a piece of shit. So I started expanding. I've decided I'm never going into any kind of job connected with construction or architectural design.  
Regular notes: umm… "Mrs. Robinson" is by Simon and Garfunkel. And the can thing, I don't remember when I first heard that superstition, but I've been doing it for years… for a while I always got a first name starting with "G"… hmm…  
Anyhoo, Review please!

Oh, and one last thing! (I know my author's notes are almost as long as the story itself, that's just how I am.) I'm on a search for sexy outfits for my boys! Simple or… not, I suppose is an easy way to put it, you decide! I won't guarantee I'll use all of your ideas, since I do have some of my own, and I'm picky, but I'd appreciate some input. And, no, "Birthday Suit," while undeniable sexy, does NOT count! I'm looking chiefly for Duo and 'Ro, but the others as well. Be creative! (But, please, they're going out in these, and it is NOT Halloween! I've seen plenty of Duos in bunny ears, and while _I_ drool, it's not what I'm looking for) Thankee all kindly! Love you :showers all reviewers with kisses:


	6. 5 Chained to You

**Disclaimer:** I don't own GW, Savage Garden, or anything else I may have alluded to, much to my sorrow, so please don't sue, all you'll get is pocket lint anyhow, and I'm sure you already have as much of your own as you could possibly want

**Warning:** fluffy cotton candy and citrusy goodness. Some Relena bashing. Shounen-ai, yaoi (if you don't know what it is, you shouldn't be here). AU. If this ain't your style, it's your loss, it's not really my place to tell you what to wear.

**In the Savage Garden**

…

"Er, is this…" Duo suddenly looked up, incredible violet eyes locking on Heero's blue. "Heero, is this a date?"

…

_We were standing all alone you were leaning in to speak to me  
__Acting like a mover shaker dancing to Madonna then you kissed me  
__And I think about it all the time  
__Sweet temptation rush all over me  
__And I think about it all the time  
__Passion desire so intense I can't take anymore …_

**Ch. 5 – Chained to You**

_Date. Date. Date._ The word seemed to ricochet around in Heero's head. He _wanted_ it to be a date, but what if Duo _didn't_? What if he was only asking because he wanted to make sure it _wasn't_? What then?

And _why_ could Duo completely unnerve him like this? Heero simply didn't understand it. No one else could reduce him to this confused, anxious wreck. Heero Yuy was cool, calm, and confident. Ask anyone.

But when _Duo_ was around… he felt so off-balance, so unsure, and almost… _jumpy_? Maybe. But Heero didn't like to think of himself as jumpy, which sounded a whole lot like _over-sensitive_, and Heero Yuy, athlete extraordinaire, did not do _over-sensitive_; that was for lesser beings. Perhaps 'hyper-aware' would be more appropriate for a man of _his_ reputation. But now, with Duo, Heero wasn't sure who he was anymore, and that was not a comforting thought. He knew he didn't want his old rep – that had to go, otherwise, what kind of future could he have with Duo?

However, the very fact that he was considering his future at all was a thing unheard of. He wasn't exactly a fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants kind of guy, he simply had never really cared: what would come, would come, and he would deal with it when it did. But now it mattered. All of a sudden, he wanted to know that he had a future, and he wanted it to be with Duo, and that scared him. Even more than not knowing who he was anymore, knowing that he wanted something so badly, and that he could lose it at any minute, scared him shitless, and the knowledge that it practically petrified him scared him even more.

The only thing that had ever frightened him before was the thought that he might hurt his best friend, especially after everything the other boy had gone through, what with losing his family, and then the fire… But Heero didn't know how to handle that fear: it wasn't something he could look in the face and stare down. That uncertainty, which meant lack of control, had pissed him off, and anger had turned out to be the perfect cover-emotion. Anger was so much easier to deal with than other emotions, and when he was angry, he could attack, instead of defend, and the attacker always has the advantage of control. Right? Of course right. But he couldn't do that anymore. He had lost Duo to Hilde years ago because of his uncertainty and his unwillingness to act, and the only reason he was here now was because Duo himself had had the guts to act first in the elevator. Heero could not afford to lose Duo again.

And the seconds were ticking by as Duo waited for his answer.

_God, he looks so… composed,_ Heero thought, groping for an adequate word. _I wish I were that calm. But what the _hell_ am I supposed to say to a question like that without completely shooting myself in the foot?_

**Switch POV**

_Yes. Say yes. _Please_ yes. Just say yes,_ Duo pleaded silently.

It felt like forever came and went before Heero spoke.

"Do you want it to be a date?"

_SHIT. Of COURSE I want it to be a date!_ Duo wailed. _But he can't _do_ that! He flipped it on me!_

That was _so_ not fair. It had taken a lot to ask, and Duo hadn't counted on having to answer as well.

_Fine,_ Duo thought, a trifle defiantly. _If I can perform in front of hundred of people, I can certainly tell my best friend I want to date him._

_GULP._

Stalling to buy time, the American boy carefully set his plate and drink on the table, stacking his plate on top of Heero's and putting both their soda cans in the empty pizza box.

_Okay. Think of ways to handle crowds. Here we go. Just… picture him in his underpants…_

_Shit. Wow. Now _that_ is what we like to call…_

_No! Don't picture! Bad Duo! Just… ANSWER!_

Duo took a deep breath. "Yeah." He nodded. "I mean, yes. I mean, I do. Want it to be a date. If you do, that is." Mentally, Duo gave himself a hard kick. _You sound like an idiot! Shut up and let him say something._

But Heero didn't speak.

The messy-haired boy let out what sounded very much like a sigh of relief, then Duo found himself being hauled forward by one wrist and enveloped in a tight embrace.

"Heero?" Duo's voice was slightly muffled against the other boy's shoulder.

The Japanese boy pulled back and took Duo's face in his hands. "_Okage de Kami-sama_," (1) he whispered, and, before the braided boy could ask what he'd said, he leaned forward and kissed him on the mouth.

It was sweet, totally unlike the kisses they'd shared on the elevator in that it was neither timid nor desperate, merely soft and gentle.

When they pulled apart, Heero's impossibly blue eyes were shining with an emotion Duo couldn't name.

"So… what does this mean?" Duo found himself asking, still only inches away.

"Everything," Heero whispered, then, after a moment, "We can take it slow."

Duo nodded, happier than he'd been in a long time. He inched a little closer, and snuggled against the taller boy's shoulder.

Heero, almost hesitantly, put an arm around him and rested his cheek against the silky chestnut-covered head.

The rest of the movie passed in a comfortable silence.

Sunday morning found Duo up early of his own accord for the first time in… well, he couldn't really remember. Since before high school, at least. He treasured the mornings he could sleep in – one of his favorite pastimes being to shut off his alarm clock on Friday night – but he had been too excited the night before to sleep much after Heero had gone home, and he'd woken up just in time to watch the sunrise, unable to stay in bed any longer.

He wasn't quite sure what to do with himself, unaccustomed as he was to being up at such an ungodly hour. He puttered around for a while, looking for something to do. Trowa and Quatre would still be in bed; Wufei was most likely awake, but he'd spent the night at Meiran's, and Duo wasn't about to bother him there. Heero was also likely to be up: there was a gym down the street that was open on Sundays, and the blue-eyed boy liked going early, before it got too crowded. The gym sounded like a good idea, but Duo felt foolish about asking to tag along, especially since the other boy knew he liked to sleep late on weekends.

"If that doesn't look like stalking, I don't know what does," Duo grumbled aloud to his apartment. "And I don't wanna look _desperate_, or anything." _No matter how appealing the idea of working out with him might be._

So Duo read for a while, flipping though various books and magazines, unable to settle. He ate a bowl of cereal and channel surfed, but nothing was on except early-morning cartoons, and he was _not_ in the mood.

At eight, he gave up.

He threw some clothes in a bag, grabbed his keys and wallet, and headed out. Heero would already be there.

**Switch POV**

Heero had been working steadily for nearly an hour when a familiar voice penetrated his concentration, and his headphones. He pulled them off, shutting off the sound, and stood, staring in surprise at a very awake Duo, dressed for the gym in dark grey mesh short and a loose white tee-shirt.

"Duo," Heero managed to get out, very cleverly, he thought with a heavy trace of sarcasm. "What are you doing here?" _Oh, now _that_ sounds friendly,_ he growled at himself.

"Good morning to you, too, Hee-chan," Duo replied, the hint of a sour grin behind his blithe greeting.

Heero tensed at the choice of address, then realized in a rush that he probably deserved it, after his own welcome. "I didn't mean it like that," he said, forcing his eyes to stay fixed on Duo's face. "I was just shocked to see you here so early. And actually awake." He forced a grin, knowing it must look fake, but then felt it widen on its own in response to Duo's chuckle.

"I'm as shocked as you," Duo replied, his normal good humor returning.

His eyes flicked the length of Heero's body, and the Japanese boy suddenly felt very self-conscious in his green tank top and black bike shorts. He suppressed a shiver at the smoldering flame in that lingering violet gaze, and made the effort once more not to allow his eyes to roam. _No,_ he told himself firmly. _Behave._

"Mind if I join you?"

Heero shook his head, uncertain if his voice would come out, and unwilling to look like a fool if it didn't.

They both worked out in silence for the next hour.

Heero didn't put his headphones back on, but he wasn't really listening to the gym's choice of music either. He tried to concentrate, but kept finding himself sneaking sidelong glances at the long-haired teen beside him. Twice he caught Duo doing the same, and both times Duo looked away guiltily, turning red even as Heero felt the blood rise in his own cheeks.

"Interesting music for the gym," Duo remarked at last, breaking the silence.

Heero blinked, and sat up, listening.

"_Some people live with the fear of a touch  
__And the anger of having been a fool  
__They will not listen to anyone  
__So nobody tells them a lie  
__I know you're only protecting yourself  
__I know you're thinking of somebody else  
__Someone who hurt you  
__But I'm not above  
__Making up for the love  
__You've been denying you could ever feel  
__I'm not above doing anything  
__To restore your faith if I can…_"

"It sounds like your station," he commented after a moment.

"I think it is," Duo replied. "But it hasn't said, yet. They don't do many commercial breaks, especially this early in the morning.

"Oh." That made sense.

"_Some people say they will never believe  
__Another promise they hear in the dark  
__Because they only remember too well  
__They heard somebody tell them before  
__Some people sleep all alone every night  
__Instead of taking a lover to bed  
__Some people find that it's easier to hate  
__Than to wait anymore…_"

Duo was singing along.

Heero pulled his knees in towards his body and rested his forearms across them, content for the time being to just enjoy the sound.

"_You know you only hurt yourself out of spite  
__I guess you'd rather be a martyr tonight  
__That's your decision  
__But I'm not below  
__Anybody I know  
__If there's a chance of resurrecting a love  
__I'm not above going back to the start  
__To find out where the heartache began  
__Some people hope for a miracle cure  
__Some people just accept the world as it is  
__But I'm not willing to lay down and die  
__Because I am an innocent man…_"

He loved the sound of his friend's voice, and felt a pang of regret as the song ended.

"I've always loved Billy Joel," the violet-eyed boy commented, then abruptly burst out laughing.

Heero quirked an eyebrow at him, wondering what he was missing.

"His initials," Duo explained, still chuckling. "I've always felt bad for him, but I still find it funny every time I think about it."

"W.J.?" Heero asked, confused. "What's so funny – oh!" _Light dawns on marble head,_ he thought, and felt a grin spread across his own face. "Billy. Not William." He laughed. "Those _are_ some unfortunate initials."

Duo jumped to his feet. "Come on."

"What?" Heero looked up, startled, at the other boy, once again wondering what he'd missed.

Duo grinned. "Let's get outta here." He held out a hand.

Heero, still a little confused, reached up to take it. He felt a little frisson of awareness at the contact, and knew from the color that appeared on the other boy's face that he'd felt it, too.

Duo hauled him to his feet and immediately released his hand, the color in his cheeks deepening.

"I'm gonna grab a shower," the blushing boy announced, staring at his shoes. "Then I thought we could grab an early lunch."

Heero glanced at the big wall clock. Barely nine-thirty. He looked back at Duo, who'd looked up in time to see the direction of the glance.

The braided boy grinned. "Late breakfast?"

"I already had breakfast." Heero waited, wondering what the other boy would come up with.

"Hmm," Duo thought, "me, too." His grin widened. "Second breakfast, then. It's too early for elevensies." (2)

Heero felt a smile tug at the corners of his mouth. _Duo and his classic old music. Duo and his classic old movies. Duo and his classic old books._

Heero let the smile spread. "Second breakfast it is."

Duo beamed at him, and led the way towards the locker rooms.

Heero faced Duo across the small booth's table in a restaurant they both liked, watching as the other boy munched pancakes slathered in whipped-cream with an air of contentment. Himself, he only picked at his scrambled eggs, not being much of a breakfast person let alone a second breakfast person, and finding it far more fascinating just watching Duo eat. The way his throat worked as he swallowed, the flicker of that pink tongue as he swiped a bit of cream from those tempting lips…

"Yeeees?" Duo's drawl brought Heero up sharply, suddenly aware that he'd been staring.

_Shit,_ Heero thought. _Not only am I practically drooling over him, but he catches me at it! Smooth, Yuy. Real smooth. Nothing says 'I want to be worth your time, so, please, give me a chance' like a bit of drool over breakfast._ He shoved a forkful of eggs into his mouth almost violently.

"You want some?"

Heero chocked on his food. _Damnit, Yuy!_ he swore at himself, coughing so hard his eyes began to water. _Get your fucking mind _OUT_ of the fucking gutter!_

Duo handed him a glass of juice. "Drink this," he ordered. "It will help."

Heero took the proffered glass and sipped.

"Wrong pipe?" the younger boy asked, concern etched in his features.

Heero nodded. "Yeah," he managed to gasp, telling himself that, technically, that's what had happened. He didn't deem it necessary to give the boy across from him any more insight into the twisted workings of his mind.

"You can have a bite, if you want," Duo offered again when Heero was breathing regularly once more.

"No thanks," Heero muttered, trying to ignore the innuendo he heard in everything that was said to him, but that didn't really exist.

"You sure?" Duo asked.

And this time, Heero could have sworn he wasn't imagining the brief smirk that crossed the boy's heart-shaped face, like he knew _exactly_ what was going on in Heero's head.

"The whipped-cream is excellent," Duo added, and suddenly scooped some up on his finger and held it out.

Heero stared, his gaze flicking from the finger, to the now-definite smirk, and back to the whipped-cream laden digit.

_Is he serious?_

"No?"

The finger retreated, and Heero looked up again in time to see it disappear, cream and all, into Duo's mouth.

_Oh, God!_ Heero bit back a low moan, and forced himself to look away. He met Duo's eyes and noted the mischief in their amethyst depths.

_Two can play that game._

Keeping his eyes locked with Duo's, he reached across the table and snagged one of the strawberries that had come on top of the pancakes. Slowly and deliberately he brought it to his lips and licked the whipped-cream off before taking little nibbling bites, working from the tip all the way to just below the leaves.

Duo's gaze had shifted to fix itself on Heero's mouth, becoming slightly glazed. His lips were slightly parted, and Heero could see his chest heave with every breath.

Heero's own lips curled into a self-satisfied smirk, and he carefully cleaned off his fingers with the same intense precision as he'd used on the strawberry.

Heero heard Duo's breath catch in his throat, and was about to give himself a pat on the back when he realized what he was doing. He immediately dropped the berry's stem on his napkin and shoveled another over-loaded fork into his mouth.

Duo pulled back, blinking, the spell broken. He was bright red and seemed very interested in his food, though he wasn't eating it, just moving it around his plate.

_Stupid, stupid, stupid!_ Heero berated himself. _You can't keep your damn eyes to yourself – here, the gym, the locker room – and he catches you gawking. And now this! What the hell are you trying to pull? This is _Duo_! Not some random guy you can seduce over breakfast and ditch before lunch! He actually _means_ something. _This_ means something! So watch your damned step. Behave. Be nice. Be romantic if you want, but for fuck's sake, _don't_ push him! Take it slow, like you promised. And keep it zipped until _he_'s ready._

"You busy this week?" Duo asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Classes," Heero replied automatically, still ranting at himself.

"Oh," Duo's voice was dejected.

The sound snapped Heero back to reality with a sharp yank on his heartstrings.

"We could meet for lunch," he offered hastily, kicking himself yet again. "Or we could do dinner, if you can't make lunch…"

"I could do lunch tomorrow or Wednesday," Duo said, perking up. "But I have an eleven to one on Tuesday and Thursday, and eleven-thirty to two on Friday."

"Two lunches and three dinners it is," Heero said, then, noting the shocked look on Duo's face, quickly added. "If you want, that is."

"Yeah," Duo looked like someone had just offered him a million dollars. "Yeah. Sounds good." He shook himself. "I mean, if you don't mind." He plainly had not expected to see the other teen so much, they often didn't see each other at all during the week, now that they had different class schedules.

"I wouldn't have suggested it if I minded," Heero replied, then an idea popped into his head. "Scratch that plan."

"What?" Duo looked confused.

"We'll do two lunches and two dinners."

"Oh," Duo sounded a trifle disappointed, and was clearly masking any stronger emotions. "Okay. You too busy?"

"No," Heero grinned. "_We_'re busy."

"We?"

Heero nodded. "Friday we're going out."

"Out?"

"Out," Heero said firmly. "Even if only for an hour. We'll do something fun. A bar, or a club."

Duo gave him a look.

Heero sighed. _So much for that idea._ "Movies?" he suggested. He'd get Duo to a club or something eventually. Maybe Saturday… _Yes. That would be good. I'll surprise him, so he won't have a chance to protest._

Duo was grinning again. "A movie sounds great. We can do a late dinner at my place after. I'll even cook."

It was obvious he felt badly about not wanting to actually go somewhere interactive. Heero hadn't even known that Duo _could_ cook… in fact, he was almost sure the other boy couldn't, at least not anything beyond popcorn and ramen.

"Speaking of movies, I need to check the Playhouse," Duo was saying, clearly trying to change the subject. "They change shows on Sunday."

"We can go now, if you like."

Duo shrugged okay, so Heero waved for the waitress to bring the check.

Figuring he could do _something_ right, he took the slip before Duo could, and paid for them both.

Something flashed in Duo's face, something Heero couldn't place, and for a moment it looked like he was going to speak, but the moment passed. Duo's cheerful grin was back in place.

Heero couldn't shake the feeling that he had missed something important, but he didn't have the courage to ask.

They took the long way home so Duo could check the billboard at the Playhouse – a small theatre that showed old movies.

His face lit up with a real smile at the show currently being advertised: _Rent_. If Heero recalled correctly (and he didn't doubt that he did), it was Duo's favorite play, and one of his favorite movies.

The braided boy immediately began humming snatches of the various songs.

"You can sing, you know," Heero told him, knowing the other boy was dying to. "I don't mind, and there's no one else around." _Not that they could possibly mind anyway._

Duo glanced quickly up and down the street, and noted that Heero was right – there was no one else out at that time on a Sunday morning. A wicked glint appeared in his violet eyes.

"Every single day," he began.

Heero started, recognizing the song at once. _Rent_, after all, was his favorite, too.

"I walk down the street," Duo continued, doing just that, swaying his hips a bit more than usual. "I hear people say, 'Baby, so sweet!'" He tossed an evil look over his shoulder before going on.

"_Ever since puberty  
__Everybody stares at me  
__Boys – girls  
__I can't help it baby  
__So be kind  
__And don't lose your mind  
__Just remember that I'm your baby._

_Take me for what I am  
__Who I was meant to be  
__And if you give a damn  
__Take me baby or leave me  
__Take me baby or leave me._"

He threw Heero another glance, giving his companion a roguish wink and went on, half dancing down the street as he sang.

"_A tiger in a cage  
__Can never see the sun  
__This diva needs her stage  
__Baby – let's have fun!  
__You are the one I choose  
__Folks would kill to fill your shoes  
__You love the limelight too, now baby  
__So be mine  
__But don't waste my time  
__Cryin' – "Oh, Honeybear – are you still my, my, my baby?"_

_Take me for what I am  
__Who I was meant to be  
__And if you give a damn  
__Take me baby or leave me._"

Duo stopped, and sent Heero a sly look. "Come on, Yuy," he challenged. "Betcha can't sing Joanne."

"Hmph." Heero tossed his head, feeling his blood rise at the challenge. A swift glance told him they were still alone.

"_It won't work  
__I look before I leap  
__I love margins and discipline  
__I make lists in my sleep  
__Baby what's my sin?  
__Never quit – I follow through  
__I hate mess – but I love you  
__What to do  
__With my impromptu baby  
__So be wise  
_'_Cuz this girl satisfies  
__You've got a prize  
__But don't compromise  
__You're one lucky baby  
__Take me for what I am – _"

Duo chimed in, singing the alternate lines, still playing Maureen.

"_A control freak – _"

"_Who I was meant to be – _"

"_A snob – yet over-attentive – _"

"_And if you give a damn – _"

"_A lovable drone – _"

"_Take me baby or leave me!_"

"_And anal retentive!_"

Duo, having yelled his last line, broke and started laughing as they detoured through a deserted park.

Unable to keep a straight face with Duo's infectious laughter, Heero started laughing as well, and let the song end early.

After a few moments, Duo got himself under control. He childishly skipped a few paces along the path, then turned around to walk backwards, facing Heero, as he began another song. Heero placed it, after a minute, as one from _Wicked_.

"The trouble with school is, they always try to teach the wrong lesson," Duo spoke the first few lines with a musical lilt, a silly smile on his face. "Believe me, I've been kicked out of enough of them to knoooooow. They want you to become less callow, less shallow, but I say: why invite stress in? Stop studying strife, and learn to live 'the unexamined liiiife.'"

And then he started singing, voice low, but strong.

"_Dancing through life  
__Skimming the surface  
__Gliding where turf is smooth  
__Life's more painless  
__For the brainless  
__Why think too hard?  
__When it's so soothing  
__Dancing through life  
__No need to tough it  
__When you can slough it off as I do  
__Nothing matters  
__But knowing nothing matters  
__It's just life  
__So keep dancing through…_"

He trailed off, then looked at Heero with a dare in his eyes. "Your turn."

Heero thought for barely a second before beginning a song he knew mainly because it was Lena's favorite – it certainly suited the girl.

"_The French are glad to die for love  
__They delight in fighting duels  
__But I prefer a man who leaves  
__And give expensive jewels._"

Duo's eyes widened and his jaw dropped as he suddenly identified the song.

Heero smirked, pleased with his choice, and went on, singing in earnest now.

"_A kiss on the hand may be quite continental  
__But diamonds are a girl's best friend  
__A kiss may be grand but it won't pay the rental  
__On your humble flat  
__Or help you feed your helpless cat  
__Men grow cold as girls grow old  
__And we all lose our charms in the end  
__But square-cut or pear-shaped  
__These rocks don't lose their shape  
__Diamonds are a girl's best friend…_"

He smirked again.

Duo, having picked up his jaw, had obviously decided to switch gears, moving away from musicals. For as soon as Heero stopped, he began in the middle of a song Heero knew only vaguely.

" "_I'll be over at ten", you told me time and again  
__But you're late, I wait around and then  
__I run to the door, I can't take any more  
__It's not you, you let me down again  
__Hey, hey, hey!  
__Baby, baby, try to find  
__Hey, hey, hey!  
__A little time, and I'll make you happy  
__I'll be home  
__I'll be beside the phone waiting for you  
__Ooo-oo-ooo, ooo-oo-ooo_

Duo pointed a finger at Heero, struggling to keep his voice steady and not dissolve into laughter.

_Why do you build me up (build me up) Buttercup, baby  
__Just to let me down (let me down) and mess me around  
__And then worst of all (worst of all) you never call, baby  
__When you say you will (say you will) but I love you still  
__I need you (I need you) more than anyone, darlin'  
__You know that I have from the start  
__So build me up (build me up) Buttercup, don't break my heart…_"

He shot Heero a grin and kept singing.

"_You were my toy but I could be the boy you adore  
__If you'd just let me know (bah-dah-dah)  
__Although you're untrue, I'm attracted to you all the more  
__Why do I need you so…_"

Heero suddenly felt uncomfortable, but he clamped down on it, refusing to allow it to take over.

"_Hey, hey, hey!  
__Baby, baby, try to find  
__Hey, hey, hey!  
__A little time and I'll make you happy  
__I'll be home  
__I'll be beside the phone waiting for you  
__Ooo-oo-ooo, ooo-oo-ooo_

_Why do you build me up (build me up) Buttercup, baby  
__Just to let me down (let me down) and mess me around  
__And then worst of all (worst of all) you never call, baby  
__When you say you will (say you will) but I love you still  
__I need you (I need you) more than anyone, darlin' – _"

They were almost to the apartment building when a group of people hurried down the street, giving the still loudly singing Duo strange looks as they passed.

Duo fell instantly silent, and remained so until they were safely in the lobby of their building. Then he burst out laughing. He dropped onto one of the couches, unable to stand.

Heero arched an eyebrow at him, but when Duo continued to roll about, tears streaming down his face, he, too, collapsed on a chair in hilarity.

It was some time before they calmed down.

"I needed that," Duo commented, wiping his eyes as they both rose and started up the stairs.

Heero nodded, and glanced askance at the other boy. After a moment, he started to sing again, softly this time.

"_The way you wear your hat  
__The way you sip your tea  
__The memory of all that  
__No, no they can't take that away from me  
__The way your smile just beams  
__The way you sing off key – _"

"I never!" Duo gasped, mock indignant, but he fell silent at once as Heero continued.

"_The way you haunt my dreams  
__No, no they can't take that away from me…_"

They had reached the seventh floor, and Heero had opened his door. He gave Duo a smile. "See you later."

Duo nodded, "Yeah," and turned to head up the last flight as Heero entered his apartment.

As Heero closed the door, he heard Duo singing quietly to himself as he climbed the stairs.

"_We may never, never meet again  
__On the bumpy road to love  
__Still I'll always, always keep the memory of…_"

Duo's voice trailed off and Heero shut the door the rest of the way, automatically locking it. He leaned against the wall for a moment, then sang the last stanza alone.

"_The way you hold your knife  
__The way we danced till three  
__The way you changed my life  
__No, no they can't take that away from me  
__No, they can't take that away from me._"

He felt a smile cross his face as he finished. It had been the best morning he'd ever had.

…

(1) _Okage de Kami-sama_ – I _think_ it means "Thanks to God." I was going for the really heart-felt kind of gratitude, and, of course, whenever Heero's emotionally overwhelmed, or really startled, he speaks in Japanese. If I botched it, I'm sorry, I don't really know much Japanese, I'm just muddling along with my dictionaries and the crappy subtitles on my anime DVDs (attempting to pick up Japanese by listening to anime probably isn't the best way to go, but it's all I've got right now).

(2) Second breakfast and elevensies are two of the many meals hobbits enjoy in J.R.R. Tolkien's _The Lord of the Rings_.

**A/N:** :does the Margaret Hamilton cackle: and if you don't know what I'm talking about, spring for a rental of _The Wizard of Oz_. Geez. Kids these days. Let's see… "Innocent Man" is Billy Joel, "Take Me or Leave Me" is from _Rent_, as I mentioned, and (also already mentioned) "Dancing Through Life" is from _Wicked_ – both fabulous shows (and, yes, _Rent_ is on it's way to becoming a movie, mostly original Broadway cast, too!). Er… "Sparkling Diamonds" is sung by Nichole Kidman in _Moulin Rouge_, "Build Me Up Buttercup" is the Foundations, and "Can't Take That Away From Me" is Gershwin (sung by Billie Holiday, among others). Didja like the sing-off? I'm obsessive with songs...  
So, would you believe me if I said this chapter was supposed to be even longer, but I figured I had enough to post now, so I cut it? Yes? No? Maybe so? lol  
Anyway, I'm considering _not_ updating again unless I get some funky number of reviews… blackmail seems to be working for other writers, and I really gotta say, it sucks to not know if people like what they read or not. Maybe I'm just greedy, I dunno. On the subject of reviews, though, I'd like to thank everyone who _has_ reviewed – especially those who've reviewed more than once! – from the bottom of my little dried-up heart. I will love you all forever, and I'll love you all even _more_ if you continue to review! Just because you reviewed once doesn't let you off the hook! Maybe my stories are taking nose-dives into the gutter. Maybe they're up in heaven getting it on with all the hotties. I won't know unless you tell me! So PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! And keep the clothing suggestions coming! Think _clubbing_ people. Big kisses now! MUAH!


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